I love an alliteration. Where the sounds of two words are meant to be together. They match. Starting with the same letter. Or the same sound. A repetition. A playful rendition. They have always captured my heart. Filled it with joy. Spilled into laughter. And delight. Wonderful words. Magical moments. Satisfying sounds. All amazing alliterations. I love them. They are the super heroes of language. Their super power: spreading joy to hearts young and old. And laughter, which sings from our souls as we stumble over them with carefree amusement.

There is something magical about early mornings. I love watching the contrast of daybreak soften into a technicolour scene out the window. To be a solo witness to the trees and humble shed in our back yard taking shape, painted into being alongside a peppering of clouds, with the rain’s passing. To hear the sounds shift as the call of the magpie announces the day.

Blogtober is back! It’s back! It’s back! She shouts out into the emptiness. The silence is deafening and then…her daughter lets out an expletive and says, ‘Are you serious mum? Again? It was horrible last time!’

I don’t remember my first Blogtober being horrible But it might get a little messy around the place for a while and there could be even a little bit of deliriousness going around. Because Blogtober is back!

I am a writer. I write what I remember. I write what I feel. Remembering Anne, our faithfully departed on All Hallows’ Eve.

‘The best-laid plans of mice and men/Go oft awry’ Robert Burns, 1785. How correct he was. How correct he is. Writing about the willingness to start over in the face of disappointment in life.

I have a deep connection to my dear friend Lisa, and it is because of her I am, what my family now call me, a ‘blogzombie’! When Lisa came up with the brilliant idea to do a post together halfway through Blogtober, if we were still going with it, I loved it. And here we are. Writing freely. Like our friendship. Bouncing off each other. Seeing what comes next. This piece is about friendship, and synergies with my writing buddy.

Nine days into Blogtober, I thought it might be funny to get inside my husband’s head and share what I think I would hear! A little tongue in cheek piece.

The first of October marks day one of Rocktober, a month of celebrating rock music. It also marks day one of Blogtober. Both of these things I hadn’t heard of before. And to be honest, I still don’t know much about either of them. Other than the fact that Blogtober is about taking on the challenge to write a blog post every day for 31 days, and I am doing it. Crazy, I hear you say? I know.

I have always been intrigued by the fact when a friend walks out of your life, through the door they leave open, another one walks in. How when placing the earth over a loved one with tears of sorrow, they turn to tears of joy with the announcement or birth of a new baby. It is the cycle of life. Hello. Goodbye.

I have written this blog post in the hope that it will encourage people to listen to the stories of others in order to find their own truth. For people to have the same experience I had - to be slapped with the reality of the importance to ‘unapologetically embrace ourselves.’

Writing more freely is about detaching from your writing. That does not mean being cold and distant from it, but truly loving it. Write in a way that embraces the four Buddhists noble truths of love. Maitri, Karuna, Mudita and Upeksha: loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.

For years I have shunned her. Pretended she wasn't there. The writer within me. Yet she has always been me; and I have always been her. The writer. 

I always read my blog posts a day or two after I publish them - man is it a humbling experience. If ever I needed a reminder that I am a mere human who makes mistakes, this is the moment I get it like a slap in the face.