Ever since my writing partner, Amy Nicholson, had her beautiful essay, “A Place Outside of Time,” published in Woods Reader last year, I had a goal to join her as a Woods Reader writer.

I got my acceptance when I was in the hospital recovering from surgery. I threw off the covers and was ready to walk home after that e-mail. In the acceptance of my poem for their spring issue and my essay for the upcoming summer issue, they asked if I had any pictures related to my essay. One that I sent was the ribbons of waterfalls above.

Guess what? They wrote back and asked if they could use it for their spring cover. Oh, be still my beating heart. “Yes! Of course!”

Last week, I was washing dishes and my husband walked in the house with the mail. With my hands in soapy water, I turned to say hello. He held up the journal, packaged in a clear wrapper, “Look what arrived!”

“Be still my beating heart!!” I yelled as I walked away from the dish water and reached for Woods Reader, ribbons of water falling from my hands.

“Don’t you think you should dry your hands first?” my husband asked.

There it was in print….this beautiful picture reminding me of our lovely hike. Inside the journal, my poem–winner of the Woods Reader Winter and Snow Poetry Challenge. There, picture and poem, for others to appreciate. Not me…not my picture or my poem; rather the simple beauty of ribbons of waterfalls or sparse words about dancing trees and a child who dreams of sleeping on pillows of snow.

It is amazing that something tiny like a droplet of water, mixing with lots of other droplets, meanders down crevices of rock creating these beautiful falls; and that little me, a droplet meandering down the crevices of life, can create something that gets shared in this lovely publication.

Lots of writing lessons here…

• A writing buddy is a good, inspiring thing to have
• A writing goal propels you forward
• Beauty, in life and picture, enhances writing
• Getting something published…sharing writing, is incredibly satisfying.
• We have a voice through the written word or a photograph.
• Let your voice be heard!