Yay! It snuck up on me there, the 100th post. WordPress keeps track, though, and told me I was about to hit the big three digits.

So – 100 posts. Six months. Five hundred and eighty-nine members in the Facebook group.

(That’s enough numbers for now, my brain hurts a little.)

So what have I been learning?

Oh, goodness, where to start.

OK, for one: I will probably never completely get rid of stress. Even when the work I am doing is something I really love – this writing, researching, etc – I always feel like I’m behind. That there should be more that I’m doing. Even though I am my own editor. Go figure.

Two: time goes by awfully fast. It’s weird how when you’re in the middle of a long work day, it doesn’t feel that way, but then when you sit and look back over a month or six, it’s amazing how it just … went.

Three: Dreams versus reality. Dreaming is great, for sure, and you need to dream in order to actually do. Ideas, sketches, talks – all of these things are vital for creativity of every kind. BUT. (And it’s a big but.)

Along comes reality. The real day-to-day. Factors you cannot control, like other people, the weather, the stock market, and pure chance. Your dreams meet reality and that’s where the magic happens, really. But then your dreams end up having to shift and change.

That’s the hard part for a control freak like myself. (And like a lot of us, I’m sure.)

Because then I think, “Oh man, I guess I didn’t control it well enough,because why doesn’t it look like how I imagined?” (This can refer to a party, or a piece of writing, or a morning at work, or whatever.)

I forget about the magic. Those parts I can’t control – they’re the parts I need to relax and take in, and let go of the need to control. Because, that’s LIFE.

And four: last but not least, THANK YOU so much. From the deepest bottom of my heart. You who read this blog, you who share it with others, or click “like”, or write comments: you are what keeps me and this blog going. No, seriously! Checking my site stats and seeing the numbers of readers is a HUGE motivator for me. “They like me, they really like me!”

Because the writing might come from me, but this blog really is an ongoing dialogue between all of us. It’s a place to talk about ideas, as frankly as we can. And about reality. And about how those two interact.

So, the next six months: I’m ready to take things to the next level. (Even though I’m not entirely sure what that is yet, I’m open to it!) I want to do more research, and present some of Cape Breton’s history. I want more guest posts and contributors. I want more video content. I want to kick it up a notch.

Also, I’ve hit a bit of a slump in terms of driving around and checking things out, and while that’s OK (work is busy, and gas is expensive), it was really part of my initial intentions for the blog, and it’s something I myself love to do. So, I want to try and do more neat things and get out to more parts of the island than just Baddeck and North Sydney.