Writing a newspaper column had been a long-time dream of mine. It came true when I started writing a weekly column for the Chanhassen Villager in March of 2001. But as excited as I was, it didn’t take long—just a few weeks, actually—until I began having doubts and second thoughts. What if nobody liked what I wrote? Or they got tired of reading it? What if I started repeating myself, and my writing got redundant? Or worse yet, boring. What if I ran out of things to write about?

None of that happened, however, and after I’d been writing for a few years, people started asking where I would go to get ideas, and how did I keep finding things to write about. The truth is: I never “went” anywhere. And I never actively looked for ideas. I just stayed open to them. My radar was always on, and my antennae fully extended. Inspiration could come from a stray comment I overheard in the grocery store or post office. From a song I heard on the radio. Or from something—good or bad—that I witnessed or experienced. Life lessons, new viewpoints, and nuggets of inspiration were everywhere. All I had to do was open my eyes enough to notice them.

I continued writing the column for 16 years—until my husband retired and we moved from Minnesota to Georgia. I hated giving up the column, but you can’t write for a local community newspaper from 1,200 miles away. So my column morphed into a weekly online blog, and that, too, went on for years.

Until it didn’t. At some point, my antennae must have weakened, and my radar developed static. I still enjoyed writing, but ideas and inspiration didn’t come as easily or automatically as they used to, and other activities and obligations started taking up more of my time and attention. For a while now, my weekly blog has been more of a monthly one. And that’s made me feel guilty.

But whenever I started wondering if it was time for me to give up the blog altogether, I’d get an email from someone saying how much they enjoyed or appreciated what I wrote, or that my writing gave them new ideas, inspiration, or ways of looking at things. That’s what has always given me the most satisfaction, and it still does.

So I’ll keep writing, even if it’s less often, and less regularly, than it used to be. I hope my words will continue helping people to find the new insights, life lessons, and nuggets of inspiration that are in and around us all. As long as we open our eyes enough to notice them.

November 7, 2026
©Betty Liedtke, 2026

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