Words

When I turned nine, I received a dictionary as a Christmas gift.

I remember unwrapping the package to find the big hardcover book with all those words. Words, words, words! So many delicious words in fact, that I began copying them into my notebooks.

Such is my love of words that an interest in writing poetry followed. I wrote poems in my school notebooks, personal journals, index cards, and on any scrap of paper I could find.

Eventually I published my poetry, including a collection of nature-themed haiku and a collection of poems and flash fiction stories. 

Thanks to my parents for that wonderful gift many Christmases ago!