As I was sipping my morning coffee the other day, I found myself thinking about my first poem reading, and I laughed.

My expressions let others know I had no idea what I was doing. At the time, I was convinced I should delete it. I thought I would redo it and replace it the next morning.

When the next morning came, I had to peek to see what I needed to correct.

To my surprise, so many of you loved what I was trying to say.

Now my curiosity came out.

What were you seeing that I was missing?

Years ago, after my stroke, I wondered if I would ever find my words again. Even today when I’m tired or anxious, my aphasia likes to remind me it’s still part of my life. So to discover that my words were reaching other people… I never saw that coming.

This became a puzzle to me.

The researcher in me loves to keep the things that are important to me.

Maybe learning something new isn’t supposed to look perfect.

I’m human, just like you.

There I go down the wonderful rabbit hole.

Yes, I love to learn.

One question would lead to another, and before long another answer would appear. Instead of stopping, I would dig a little farther in search of another question.

There it is.

I think I just found another puzzle piece.

Many of us were finding puzzle pieces too.

It became so exciting.

Some of us were finding our voice.

Others were trying something new.

Dreams that had been tucked away were pulled out, dusted off, and brought back to life.

Mine began years earlier, when I was learning to build a life after my stroke. I just didn’t realize those same dreams would one day encourage someone else to keep reaching for theirs.

Unexpected conversations began to happen.

They seemed to uncover another piece.

Then another.

Every once in a while, two of them would slide together and become whole.

I chuckled a little.

“I didn’t see that coming.”

Then it hit me.

We had stepped out of our comfort zones together.

We weren’t really having different conversations after all.

We were one and the same.

It isn’t just me living this life or writing this chapter.

All of us experience moments when life asks us to begin again.

Maybe that’s what it means to rewrite your life.

One puzzle piece at a time.

Maybe that’s the next puzzle piece…