Retirement is tiring. I've been on the run since the day I left teaching. First was a trip to Key West to the Mystery Writers Conference. Heather Graham was on several panels.

Mary Marvella rode shotgun on that trip.

We had a ball. We ate great seafood!

We signed our books.

http://amazon.com/author/mjflournoy
 A Matter of Trust
http://amzn.com/B00FDWOL3C A bit of self-promotion here, if you haven't read A Matter of Trust, please download, read and review. It's lonely over on Amazon.

We went on a bar crawl!

Then back home and to Atlanta for a GRW meeting and a girl's night out before the meeting.

Well, this was still Key West, but you get the idea!

In July we were on the road again, well actually in the air. We flew to San Antonio for RWA National.

Then I had to go back to school shopping for my granddaughter who is starting her first year in high school.

We have many more plans. Weekly critique meetings, a monthly writer's retreat and another road trip in September. Whew, I'm tired. I might have to go back to work to get some rest.

Today is the first day of school in my area. Last night, as I talked to my grandson, I heard the excitement in his voice. His tomorrow was going to be filled with new adventures; a ride on the big yellow school bus—#18 no less—, meeting new friends and playing on the monkey bars at recess. I could imagine the sparkle in his eyes with such clarity while he chattered. I remember the burning excitement that had ran through my veins on the last night of my summer vacation.

This morning, while I thought about what I would write for this blog, I connected the dots between the emotions Michael evoked in me and who I am today. I think we’ll all admit at times school wasn’t always the most exciting adventure and during our formative education years we longed for the day when the information overload would end. How stupid were we?

We started learning the moment we were born and will continue to do so until we take our last breath. Yes, there are those who resist the urge to learn, but the majority of us thirst for knowledge. We find fields of interest and gladly roll up our sleeves and open our minds and take in every possible bit of information that relates to it.

I do wonder at what magical second in my life the craft of writing became my field of interest? Was it the moment my mother read the end of a storybook? Or after I scribbled my first coherent sentence? Maybe when I walked into my school library and marveled at the endless shelves of book, all available to me? Or did the interest bug bite me after I’d read the one book I still remember from those wonder years? Maybe it was a combination of all those experiences that planted the seed of desire in my soul.

I’m excited for my grandson because his moment is going to happen and when it does, wondrous doors will open.

So, do remember the moment that changed your life?