This month is the first anniversary of my small business, Wonderwords Personalised Poems – yes, after 14 years of writing for the top names in the greeting card industry, I took the plunge and decided to go it alone.
I’d been thinking about it for a while, to be honest, but I lost a dear friend to cancer this last year, and one of the last things she said to me was “If there’s something you’ve always wanted to do, do it NOW.” So I plucked up my courage and went for it.
But it also made me think about the bigger questions – what are the really important things in life, and am I spending enough time with the people who really matter? And is a crammed order book really worth sacrificing everything else for? If it’s a badge of honour to fret, worry and panic about my business, then that’s not a badge I want. Life is way too short and I’m more aware than ever that every day is a privilege, and now I try to take every chance to enjoy what I have.
So, this Sunday morning, I wrote a few lines, then put my hat and coat on and went out into the world to see what I could find. My poem is called “Today I DID NOT go to work” – and Alison, this one’s for you.
