My sister is my hero. When she gave birth to my nephew, 18 years ago, Autism diagnosis was still in its infancy, information was hard to come by, support was few and far between. It was apparent early on that my nephew was different. He would cover his ears at loud sounds, breaking his routine would upset him, he would become obsessed with objects or television shows, he went through a period of time where he would only eat yellow foods.  It took several years to get a diagnosis and I remember their being a lot of debate on where he lies on the spectrum. Was he Asperger? Was he Autistic?

He is high functioning and loving with his family, but social interaction is a challenge for him. His brain is wired differently.  My sister decided to home school him, believing that mainstream school would not be the best place for him. He thrived in my sister’s care. She read everything she could get her hands on, sent him to play and speech therapy and loved him through it. It hasn’t been an easy road. He’s still working to finish high school, but he has dreams of designing robots and studying robotics and university. And I know he will.

To outsiders, some of his actions or outbursts might seem rude. Sometimes he says whatever is on his mind. Sometimes he has physical ticks. Some of this has calmed as he’s gotten older, but life isn’t easy when your brain is wired in a different way.

I remember one year when we were visiting Disney World. My nephew was 10 and his younger sisters were 8 and 6. The girls wanted to have dinner at Cinderella’s Castle and although my nephew had been briefed that we would be having a family meal here with Disney Princesses, when we arrived and got seated, he became agitated. First it was about the food, and then the princesses in costume. My sister ended up taking him out of the restaurant to have a discussion. She was outside the castle and my nephew kept walking away from her with his hands over his ears. She followed him and ended up trapping him between her two arms up against a wall to talk to him, to get his attention, and to keep him from running off. If you don’t make eye contact and get him to look at you, it’s hard to penetrate his autistic wall. He was frustrated and lashed out; she was frustrated and leaned in to try to contain him. There was a scene and someone called security to tell them my sister was abusing her child. My sister has never abused any of her children. She was dealing with him in the only way she could, the only way he would respond to in order to keep things from escalating.

The security team nearly called the police and we were nearly removed from the property because someone on the outside saw a mother dealing with an autistic child and didn’t know it. My nephew was scared to death when security came over and so was my sister.  After some explaining, my sister and nephew were allowed to return to dinner. My sister was overcome with guilt and shame, not to mention embarrassment.  And so was my nephew, all because an outsider didn’t understand the situation. How do you explain this to someone who hasn’t lived it, who doesn’t have an autistic child?

This is why shining a light on Autism is so important. Autism spectrum disorder is all around us. It might be someone in your immediate family, a friend, a co-worker. You would be surprised how many families are touched by this disorder. About 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. And that’s just those who have been diagnosed.

Although there is no definitive cause for ASD, I know that I’m at risk for giving birth to an ASD child. My husband, my nephew, his nephew are all on the spectrum.  If that day comes, I can only hope I can be as good a mother to my child as my sister has been to hers.

My sister is my hero. For doing whatever it took to care for my nephew for forging a path when information was hard to come by, for pushing for diagnosis, for trying different vitamins, diets, therapies to find one that worked, for not giving up on her first born and for seeing his potential where others saw frustration and hardship.

Symptoms of autism and Asperger syndrome 

Autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) can cause a wide range of symptoms, and there are many different ways that those symptoms can be grouped.

It is useful for parents to know the signs and symptoms of autism and Asperger syndrome that are related to their child’s stages of development.

Early signs of ASD: 6–18 months old

Although they can be difficult for parents to detect, the signs and symptoms of ASD begin to show between 6 and 18 months of age in most children. These signs and symptoms include the following:

• Your baby often avoids or has limited eye contact (gaze aversion). They may prefer to watch people out of the corner of their eyes or watch them in a mirror, rather than directly.
• Your baby does not follow your gaze. For example, when you look at your watch, a baby without ASD would copy you and look at your watch as well. Alternatively, your baby does not look at objects that have been pointed out to them.
• Your baby has no happy expression when they look at you.
• Your baby does not “babble” (respond in a “back-and-forth” manner when you talk to them).
• Your baby does not seem to recognize or respond to your voice, yet is aware of other sounds, such as a bell ringing or a dog barking.
• Your baby shows little interest in drawing your attention to things by pointing to them or pulling your hand towards them.
• Your baby rarely or never makes gestures such as pointing or waving.

Signs of ASD in pre-school children

The signs and symptoms of ASD usually become more apparent as your child gets older.

Problems with language will become more noticeable. It is likely that your child will begin to have difficulty interacting socially. They will also show unusual patterns of behavior.

The signs and symptoms that often develop during this age are explained below.

Language development

Your child’s speech development may be delayed or they may not speak at all. Most children can construct two-word sentences, such as “ball … want” or “me … drink”, by the age of two.

Delayed language development does not usually affect children with Asperger syndrome, but their speech may be affected in other ways. For example, it may sound very monotonous, flat or unusually fast.

Although children with ASD may have difficulty understanding long verbal instructions, they are often good at visual clues and instructions. This can be used to help them understand things such as visual timetables at school and at home, or picture exchange communication systems (PECS).

Playing

Your child may have little interest in playing with toys in an imaginative way, yet they may play in a repetitive manner.

For example, rather than pushing a toy car across the floor, your child may concentrate on spinning one of the wheels on the car. Or, rather than using blocks to build an object, they may line the blocks up in order of size or colour.

Children with ASD often prefer to play with household objects such as string, pens or keys, rather than toys. They are happy to play alone for hours without needing supervision or attention.

Social interaction

Many children with ASD often appear to look straight through someone. They have little or no awareness of other people.

Your child may have little interest in other children of the same age, or taking part in shared activities.

Some children with ASD may try to form friendships with children but then behave inappropriately, such as suddenly kissing or hitting another child. Or they may be unable to understand concepts such as taking turns.

Behaviour

Many children with ASD develop a repetitive pattern of physical behaviour. These patterns are known as sterotypies.

Examples of sterotypies include:

• flicking their fingers
• flapping their hands
• rocking back and forth
• persistent and unexplained sniffing
• licking objects

They also often enjoy visual stimulation and may be seen waving shiny paper, such as a crisp packet, in front of their eyes or rocking backwards and forwards in front of a pattern of vertical lines, such as metal bars on a fence.

They may sit close to the TV because they like the patterns they can see close up. Their visual skills are often revealed by their ability to do jigsaws or construction toys at an early age, or with a much greater ability compared to their other skills.

Many children with ASD develop strict routines, such as having to watch a certain cartoon at a certain time, or having to watch their favourite DVD from beginning to end, including all of the end credits. If these routines are disrupted, the child may have a severe temper tantrum or act in a self-harming way by banging their head or biting their skin.

Children with ASD often seem unaware of pain and injuries that would prompt other children to seek their parent’s attention. Many parents whose children have ASD notice that they have a cut or a bruise, yet seem happy.

Children with ASD may suddenly become upset and distressed at certain sounds, such as a vacuum cleaner or a motorcycle, or the sudden appearance of bright lights.

Children with ASD often develop a strong dislike for certain foods. This is usually based on the texture or colour of the food rather than the taste. For example, they may refuse to eat soft foods that dissolve in their mouth, or white or beige food such as rice, potatoes and pasta. It is also common that they insist food is separated on the plate and does not touch, which may mean using an airline-style plate to help cope with this.

Signs and symptoms of ASD in school-age children

Some children with mild to moderate ASD may see an improvement in their symptoms as they grow older. Sometimes, attending school gives them an opportunity to learn the social and communication skills that come naturally to children without ASD.

Children with more severe ASD may find the school environment increasingly stressful. This can trigger episodes of disruptive and difficult behaviour.

Signs and symptoms that can develop in older children and teenagers are explained below.

Language

Although most children with autistic disorder or PDD-NOS improve their language skills, specific difficulties with language may persist, such as:

• referring to themselves as “you”, “she” or “he” rather than “I”
• repeating words and phrases, “parrot fashion”, that they have just heard or have learnt from watching a film or TV programme
• speaking in pre-learned phrases, such as “I want it now” or “Where are we going?” rather than putting together individual words to form new sentences
• an unusual rhythm, stress or tone in their speech
• being unable to start or join in with a conversation unless it is about specific topics that interest them, such as dinosaurs or trains

In older children with Asperger syndrome, problems with their use and understanding of language often become more apparent. They include:

• talking “at” somebody, rather than having a two-way conversation
• being unable to adapt the tone and content of their speech to different social situations, for example speaking very formally at a party and then speaking to total strangers in a familiar way
• taking people’s speech literally and being unable to understand humour, sarcasm, metaphors or figures of speech

Social interaction

Older children with ASD often have additional problems at school because they do not understand how to interact socially.

This lack of understanding occurs in a variety of ways. For example, they may not realise that people usually relate to their teacher differently from how they relate to their classmates.

A child may have little interest in issues and activities that are popular with other children, such as music, fashion, sport or going out.

Many children with ASD are not aware that they are intruding into other people’s personal space. However, they can become extremely upset if they feel that their own personal space is being invaded.

All these factors often make it difficult for your child to make friends with children of the same age. However, some children with ASD do manage to form relationships with younger children or adults.

Behaviour

A child with ASD is likely to need strict routines as they get older. Many children with ASD develop a highly specific interest in a particular subject or activity, which usually involves collecting, numbering or listing.

This can range from a usual childhood activity, such as collecting football stickers (though children with ASD often pursue the interest much more intensely than other children) to activities or subjects not normally associated with childhood, such as an interest in train timetables or reading old computer manuals.

Children with ASD may move on from one intense special interest to another after a few months or years. They may wish to hold their special interest toy all the time, and even take it to bed with them rather than a cuddly toy.

Children with ASD prefer rigidity and predictability. Changes, even small ones, may result in major tantrums. This could include not being able to wear the socks they’ve worn for a week, or having a trip to the park suddenly cancelled for a trip to the swimming pool.

Tantrums are common and it’s often difficult for parents to work out what has caused them. However, they usually occur because something they weren’t expecting has happened or because the adult wants to make a change to the routine.

Children with Asperger syndrome often do well at academic subjects that involve facts, figures and logic. But they may struggle with subjects that require abstract thought, such as English Literature or Religious Education.

So excited! I’ve won a new blog design from the fabulous designer Stephanie Mooney. Watch this space for my new look and new content. I’ll be blogging less about the craft of writing and more about Elarin (my muse), Scotland, books, travel, Game of Thrones, films, tv,  what it’s really like to be a debut novelist,  and whatever else strikes my fancy. I’ll still be blogging about writing information, motivation and inspiration over at Hugs and Chocolate so don’t forget to follow me over there if you  have the chance. It’s a fantastic and warm community for writers. I hope all of you are living the dream. Write on!

I’ve hit the publishing jackpot. After 26 years of dreaming about being a published author, I’ve sold my debut novel, Pretty Dark Nothing, to Month 9 Books in a 2 book deal. Come read all about my journey at Hugs and Chocolate,  and find out why you should never give up on your dream.

Do you spend your days channeling your muse and living in your own head? Are you turning into a hunchback from hours of typing your beloved manuscript? Have the voices in your head grown so sick of you they tell you it’s time to get your own life? Are you running on coffee and chocolate? Do your husband’s/BFF’s/parent’s/sibling’s/ Starbuck’s barista’s/eyes glaze over the minute you mention your WIP?  Do you ever feel like you might be certifiable? Would you have it any other way?

No matter how supportive your family and friends are, the only people who truly understand a writer’s mind is another writer.  Community is important. Vaughn Roycroft said it best on  his recenet post at Writer Unboxed. Belonging to a tribe is important. I’ve been truly blessed to develop some amazing relationships with other writer’s along my journey. Without them, I don’t think I would have stayed sane. We lift each other up, challenge one another, and share our goals and our craft.  It’s from this experience, this writerly bond that formed between six strange writers sitting behind their laptops that we decided to create a new blog for writers by writers, Hugs and Chocolate.  I know there are a lot of blogs for writer’s out there, awesome ones, and I hope you’ll make room in your hearts for one more. You won’t be disappointed. Hugs and chocolate is about inspiration, motivation and education. We want it to be a place for community to grow, to share ideas, to work toward the same goal.We invite you to join our tribe- to share, laugh, cry, rant, and cheer together with us as we navigate the stormy seas of writing and publishing.  I hope you’ll take a moment to stop by and say hello. We will welcome you with open arms and lots of chocolate.

Fill your plates with haggis, neeps and tatties. Don your kilt and toast The Bard for his birthday supper. A stanza of his poetry.  A dram of fine Scotch whiskey . Now raise your glass to Rabbie Burns, Scotland’s favourite son, Robert Burns, the Ploughman Poet, Robden of Solway Firth, the Bard of Ayrshire and Scotland’s national treasure.  Happy Burns Nicht (night).

To A Mouse

1785

By Robert Burns

Wee, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie,
O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi’ bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee,
Wi’ murd’ring pattle!

I’m truly sorry man’s dominion,
Has broken nature’s social union,
An’ justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An’ fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
‘S a sma’ request;
I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave,
An’ never miss’t!

Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!
It’s silly wa’s the win’s are strewin!
An’ naething, now, to big a new ane,
O’ foggage green!
An’ bleak December’s winds ensuin,
Baith snell an’ keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste,
An’ weary winter comin fast,
An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell-
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro’ thy cell.

That wee bit heap o’ leaves an’ stibble,
Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter’s sleety dribble,
An’ cranreuch cauld!

But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an ‘men
Gang aft agley,
An’lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!

Still thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e’e.
On prospects drear!
An’ forward, tho’ I canna see,
I guess an’ fear!

Happy Chinese New Year. Gung Hay Fat Choy! May prosperity be with you.

Today we leave the Year of the Rabbit enter the Year of the Dragon.  The Western traditional New Year is past. The champagne is gone, the ball has dropped, and resolutions have been made and broken. I didn’t make resolutions this year. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I made any new year’s resolutions. Why spend one day a year reflecting on your life, dreams, and goals? Reflection should be on going. Goals should be made, and re-assessed, re-adjusted, and made again. We should take stock daily and be grateful what we have and strive toward our passions. Continue to work to do better each and every day.

Enter the Dragon. In the Chinese zodiac, the Dragon is the mightiest of the signs. They prefer to live by their own rules. They take risks and are unafraid of challenges. The Chinese Dragon is passionate and goes out to achieve. Dragon’s don’t wait for life to come to them; they go out and meet life head on.

That’s what I want 2012 to be for me. It’s time to take risks, put myself out there and see what happens. This isn’t easy for me. I’m a Rabbit, and reading about this sign hits pretty close to home. It is said that Rabbits are creative and seekers of knowledge. They symbolize compassion and sensitivity and hate conflict. They are cautious and careful and don’t like taking big risks. Their sensitive nature makes them shy away from aggressive or competitive situations and they sometimes lose out on opportunities because of it.

So how does a rabbit become a dragon? They don’t. I don’t really want to be a dragon. I’m happy being a rabbit. I love being creative and compassionate. What I want is to dress as a dragon on the weekends. I want to learn to take on the dragon personality, the risk taker, the mighty fire breather, when it’s necessary.

We all, at times, wish we could be more like someone else. But even dragons have a weakness. They have bad tempers and people sometimes think they are conceited.  The point is that we all have our strengths and weaknesses.  It’s time to stop focusing on everyone else. Let the rabbits be rabbits and the dragons be dragons. Focus on what we’re good at and know what we need to work on.  Dress up as a dragon to learn, to improve on a weakness, but always stay true to who you are.

What’s your Chinese zodiac sign? What sign would you want to dress up as?

The fabulous Karen S Elliott asked me to write about Scotland for her blog’s International week. Come take a look at what I had to say about this beautiful country.

http://karenselliott.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/my-scotland-by-heather-l-reid/

Have a great day, everyone! I’m off to Texas tomorrow to see my family for Thanksgiving. Happy Turkey Day to you and yours.

Heather

Ten days ago I typed ‘The End’ on the last page of Touched by Darkness. I had finished the fourth and (hopefully) final rewrite of my labour of love. The beta readers were waiting and my baby was all dressed up and ready for her debut. Giddiness consumed me. I jumped around the room, did the happy dance, drank a glass of wine, bored my husband with endless writer speak at dinner, and went to bed a happy woman.

The next day, reality struck. I had accomplished my goal. My long, joyful, frustrating journey with Quinn and Aaron was over. I wandered the house, a restless shell. Emptiness settled inside me. My heart longed to be with them. A small part of me wished it wasn’t over. In truth, I missed them.

Some would advise diving into the next project, keep busy writing something else. I have four other novels waiting in various stages of planning and draft, but in all honesty, I needed a short break. I didn’t want my next book to be the rebound book. I wasn’t ready to fall in love with new characters or a new story quite yet. I needed to allow myself time to do something completely different and let my story go before starting a new one.

Here’s how it’s gone so far.

Day One: Bake something. Console yourself with homemade muffins and scones.

While this seemed like a good idea, I ended up buying muffins instead and watching rubbish daytime telly. Do you have any how much crap is on in the middle of the day? Wow!

Day Two: Read for pleasure.

Day Three: Read some more. I managed to read four novels in a three day period. Fantastic! Get out of the house and go to the gym. I hate the gym. I went to the pool for a swim instead. Reward myself by eating two entire Galaxy Cookie Crunch chocolate bars. This week was not great for my waist line.

Day Four: As an early birthday present, hubby bought me the new Elder Scrolls game, Skyrim, for the X-Box. Wow! This was an awesome time suck. Awesome game! I spent hours immersed in Skyrim as a Dragon born Nord learning words of power, killing Dragons,  getting bitten by a werewolf, becoming a werewolf, trying to find a cure of lycanthropy, killing evil, and having a grand time.

Day Five: I’m starting to forget all about Quinn and Aaron, but not quite. I think I need a little ice cream to help dull the pain. Back to Skyrim to defeat more evil.

Day Six: Get the respiratory flu. Spend the day in bed catching up on episodes of American Horror Story and Glee. Love it!

Day Seven: Pass the flu to a loved one and spend time keeping each other up all night coughing.

Day Eight: Think about working on a new blog post while coughing and being generally annoyed by everything. Play Skyrim instead.

Day Nine: Feeling better. Start packing for my trip back home to the States on Thursday.

Day Ten: Actually write a new blog post. Give Touched by Darkness a final read through to clean up any glaring errors and send to betas before leaving town. Ideas for a sequel are starting to emerge. Perhaps Quinn and Aaron will be back in my life sooner than expected.

How do you cope with the post manuscript blues? Do you dive right in to another project or do you give yourself a break before moving on? I would love to hear about your process.

Heather, here. I want to introduce my guest blogger today, Vaughn Roycroft. Vaughn and I met through Writer Unboxed and have since become fast friends. His comments and insights are inspiring, wise, and always right on target.  He’s one of the most supportive people I’ve met and is always ready to help a fellow writer.  He’s also the newest reviewer for Reader Unboxed, a site for readers by readers. Congratulations, Vaughn! As he doesn’t yet have his own blog, I asked if he would consent to share some of his thoughts here at I’d Rather be Writing. He’s a talented Fantasy writer, who, like me, is working to navigate this brave new world of publishing. Please give him a big, warm welcome and make sure to comment below. Thanks, everyone. Write on!

Already There

by Vaughn Roycroft

Too Much Information

I don’t have my own blog, so I appreciate Heather lending me her platform. Something’s been on my chest for a while, and it’s only gotten more pronounced in recent weeks. Although I don’t blog, I read my share of them, and I’ve noticed a trend developing in my writing community. I’m old enough to remember when Sting was with a little rock trio called The Police. In ’81 they did a song called Too Much Information. When Sting penned the lyrics, ‘Too much information, running through my brain; Too much information, is driving me insane,’ he couldn’t have had any idea how bad it would get.

As writers we’re inundated daily, and the expectations beyond putting words on the page have increased exponentially. Blog hits, Twitter followers, facebook friends; Amazon rankings, Big 6 downsizing, shrinking advances, chain store closures; changes in the roles of literary agencies, Amazon, B & N, the Big 6, the small presses, and so on. The changes in the publishing industry are indisputably revolutionary. It boggles the mind.

Increasing Angst

Whatever the stage of their career—unpublished, like me, or seasoned pro—writers cannot help but to be affected by it all. All too often lately I’ve notice my writing friends almost shutting down, frozen by the angst derived from this mind-boggling atmosphere. I’ve been guilty too. It’s all too easy to become angst-ridden when we become too tightly tied up in the outcome (focused on getting published, on sales numbers, on platform-building, etc.). It’s all too easy to forget what brung us to this crazy dance. We lose sight of the joy we had in pouring ourselves onto the page, back before we knew how hard it was going to be to even write a decent query letter, let alone land an agent or a publishing contract.

Miserable Company

As I said, I am as guilty as anyone. I’ve been plenty angst-ridden about my writing career, plenty often. In June of ’09, six years after its inception, I typed the words ‘The End’ on my historical fantasy trilogy. I thought it’d been tough finishing a draft. Like Sting in ’81, I had no idea how much worse it could get. For the next eighteen months, through beta readers, rewrites, submissions, rejections, query letter rewrites, more rejections, more beta readers, re-rewrites, etc., I made myself and everyone around me miserable.

I’m a bit different than many in that I came back to writing later in life. I had already been successful in business. I wasn’t looking to have a bestseller. I’d wanted to write this story for as long as I could remember. After my wife and I sold our business in ’03, the time had come to do it. It was that simple. As I collected rejections, I heard again and again that most first novel attempts get shelved. That may be fine for many. Just write another one, right? Neither my gut nor my heart could accept it. This had been a labor of love. But I also felt I was getting too old to continue to bash my head against the wall.

Reexamination

A year ago, instead of shelving the trilogy, I decided to reexamine my goals. It was time for some genuine soul-searching. I decided what I really wanted was to connect with readers. After having a handful of beta readers really get my work, hearing how it affected them, even how it related to their lives, I started to get what this was about for me. Lord knows writing them affected me.

I had to look at the aforementioned revolution, too—from all angles, good and bad. I got a Kindle last fall, and it really opened my eyes to the possibilities. Self publishing is no longer so darn shameful, and it’s gotten a whole lot cheaper too. Simply entertaining the thought that I can publish my work myself has lifted a world of woe from my shoulders. Not that I’m sure I will. And not that I want to stick it to the gate-keepers; I understand and appreciate the process. Nor do I imagine this would be the route to Amada Hocking-esque financial security or a back road to being traditionally published. I just want to be read. Anything more will be icing on the cake.

Reconnecting

Another thing my reexamination led to was the simple realization that I love to write. Duh, right? But I’d lost sight of it. And I decided I wanted to reconnect with the joy of the process. So last winter I started a project that was just for me. I wanted to look backward from my trilogy, at the characters and back-story that brought it all about—a prequel. What started as a short story became as big a doorstop as my other books; probably way too big for the publishing world, especially from an unknown. And you know what? I don’t give a shit. The thing took me eight months, but it gave me all sorts of insight about my trilogy and its characters. Since finishing the prequel, I’ve also tackled another rewrite of Book I of the trilogy, and the effort is paying dividends I hadn’t imagined, giving my older work such greater depth and clarity. Simply getting back to writing has made this a pivotal year for me.

Realization

This year has made me realize so much more than just my love for writing. I’ve fully realized that my writing journey has been the most important and fulfilling of my life. And it’s just getting going. Along the way I’ve met and connected in a meaningful way with so many wonderful people, like Heather, mostly through Writer Unboxed. I’ve gained so much insight, have come to a more profound view of the world and my life. I’ve only gotten closer to my wife, who is my soul mate and my Ideal Reader. My love and understanding are deeper than I knew possible. As Elbert Hubbard, founder of the Roycroft Campus, said, “Blessed is the man who has found his work.” I know I’ve found my work—and that’s worth more than anything: money, awards, book tours, or even praise.

Already There

I don’t know what will happen to the books or with my writing career. But I’ve let go of the outcome. The journey will go on, and I’m no longer sure exactly what the destination looks like, but in so many ways I know I’m already there. I’ve decided I’m a writer.

How about you? In what ways has your writing journey changed you? Are you a better person for it? In what ways are you already there?

I’m sure you’ve seen those pictures of Scotland shrouded in mist. You picture wind-swept moors, weeping grey sky, and men roaming the country side in Kilts. It’s all true, except for the Kilts. Unfortunately, most men opt for pants these days with the exception of special occasions such as Weddings. I love a man in a kilt. *sigh*  But the, rugged, brooding, atmospheric landscape of Scotland has one of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever seen. I feel blessed to live here. With one exception. It rains. A lot. Which makes it difficult to go out and enjoy the beautiful, brooding, landscape because the sky weeps so much. Except today. Today the sun is shining and Dave and I are out doing what we love best, enjoying the beauty of Scotland. Raincoats in tow-just in case.

We started our walk in Auchincruive which is just on the outskirts of Prestwick and Ayr. It is a farming area with rolling hills and lush green fields. William Wallace once hid in the woods here and Oswald House has links to Robert Burns who was born just 5 miles away.

We started by crossing Oswald’s Bridge. The bridge was built in 1826 to gain access to the estate. There is evidence that it was built upon an earlier ruin.

Since I forgot to print the map (oops), we chose a narrow path that followed the river.

Around a beautiful field where we watched the cows basking in the sunshine.

Past ancient monuments.