Since retiring, I’ve been very good at achieving one goal, Exercising. But I have not been so great at achieving another goal, Writing.

After I retired, one of the first things I did was join a gym. Most weeks, I take classes there three times a week and run or walk almost every day of the week. I’ve discovered “habit reinforces habit” — the more I exercise, the more I don’t want to miss exercise.

So, I’m going to try this with my writing, which has been, at best, sporadic. What if I “exercised” my writing muscle every day, even just a little bit? Would my writing muscle strengthen? Let’s see.

I’m going to create a habit of writing on my blog every day, even if it’s just a few sentences, even if, as Anne Lamott says, it’s only a “shitty first draft.” If I use the day number in the title, my hope is that as I see the number increase, I’ll be less apt to let a day go.

Here’s Day 1:

This morning, I woke up to the sound of rain. I’m a huge pluviophile, so waking to the pitter patter of rain outside my window is the best alarm clock ever.

As I pulled back my bedroom curtain and looked out the window, I watched the puddles and noticed some raindrops simply “plopped,” while others made bubbles before quickly popping. Watching the plopping and bubbling reminded me of how I used to love to splash in puddles.

Years ago, I wrote a poem about a day I decided to walk home from school in the rain. Though I got in trouble (I was supposed to wait for my mom and I ruined my patent-leather shoes!) the adventure was worth it. Even today, I love the rain.