GETTING UNSTUCK
Earlier this year, I met a dear family member, Donna Jean,
at Tybee Island, Georgia. Donna Jean escapes the cold and snow of her North
Carolina home and winters on Tybee; family members know if they want to see
her, they have to schedule a visit. For
several years, she and I have corresponded about meeting when my work schedule
would allow me to travel north.
Donna Jean has a degree in journalism and has been a writer
all her life. My goal was to enjoy
several “relax and recreation” days at
her beach house and exploring - with her help - the pros and cons of my past year‘s
Wellness Wednesdays columns and her advice for this year’s column. The thought of talking with her about effective
writing and clear communication to my target audience thrilled me.
I dutifully packed copies of my blog books for the trip,
along with writing notebooks. After I arrived on the island and had unpacked fresh
vegetables from my favorite hydroponic farm for the meals I would prepare for
the two of us, Donna Jean told me that she would read the Wellness Wednesdays columns
in the evenings. Then, the next morning
after she had tea and I had coffee, she would provide her impressions and
suggestions of what she had read the night before. I took copious notes for three days and returned to
Florida. And then the unexpected
happened - I was unsure what to write!
After all the little girl kind of excitement about looking
forward to the weekend on Tybee Island with Donna Jean, when I returned home I
found I could not write. I was not
prepared to be stuck. I had expected the
flood gates to open wide and have words tumbling out on every paper I touched after
being inspired by a powerful writer.
For the last 3 months I have not written Wellness Wednesdays. Until today, when I made the decision that it was time to write
again. One of the challenges Donna Jean
gave me on Tybee, intertwined in our conversation about communication theory, was
“to find ways to get the stories out.” So this year I will write about the stories from the Growing Healthy Kids movement and why
we are working crazy busy hours to improve health literacy of parents and
improve health outcomes of America’s children.
I have missed you and
our weekly conversations more than you can imagine. I want to honor our conversations. Donna Jean taught me a lot on Tybee. She taught me that by becoming a storyteller, I will be a more powerful teacher and will touch more lives. It is time to tell stories about Growing
Healthy Kids.
Every column may not be a
story, but many will be. As I write about
health matters, food, farming, fitness, love, family and friends, tell me this: What
health goal has gotten you stuck to the point where you could take no
action? Looking forward to hearing from
you.
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.
