We cling to the thing we create because it is precious to us. To send it out into the world means we are trusting it to a system that may not care the way we care, and our feelings are far too fragile to handle damaged packaging, or, God forbid, abandoned deliveries.

The complete table of contents for the December 2023 issue of Blank Spaces magazine.

My neighbour’s property surrounds ours in a horseshoe—hay field to the east, soybean to the west, and a small forest to the south. They have invited us to use their horse trails and I take advantage of this in moments when work overwhelms me or I can’t focus on the task at hand. This fall, on a day when nothing came easy, I donned my rubber boots and went searching for the metaphor I needed for this letter.

The complete table of contents for the December 2022 issue of Blank Spaces magazine.

During a Thanksgiving mishap, I severely sprained my ankle and spent a full month off my feet. I fluctuated between grief and anger and self-pity; way too much Netflix and not enough productivity.

The complete table of contents for the December 2021 issue of Blank Spaces magazine.

I don’t believe it’s accidental that cursor seems to be derived from the root word “curse”. As I sit here, overwhelmed with a to-do list (that includes writing this introduction to the December issue), the cursor blinks at me in witchy fashion, and I am empty.

The complete table of contents for the December 2020 issue of Blank Spaces.

It’s cliché to question the passage of time, but I can’t help myself: where does it go? I’m so excited that over the last few years I’ve been able to check off a substantial number of accomplishments from my bucket list. I’m less excited about the grey hair I found in my left eyebrow last week, or that my oldest son will be leaving me for university in the fall, or that, in less than a month, I’ll be turning forty. There is still so much to be done.

The complete table of contents for the December 2019 issue of Blank Spaces.

Sometimes, the span between issues seems enormous when I think about everything that happens in that space. Since our second anniversary edition in September, we released a new anthology (Just Words Volume 2, coming out as the number two new release in Canadian collections and readers on Amazon in its first week); we took to the Toronto Harbour Front for Word on the Street (so nice to chat with so many readers and contributors there!)…

The complete table of contents for the December 2018 issue of Blank Spaces.

Blank Spaces would be nothing without the support of its team, and this month, instead of my normal ‘look how far we’ve come’ bit, I’m going to write a love letter for the women who have helped ‘how far’ become a true reality.

The complete table of contents for the December 2017 issue of Blank Spaces.

When I was in high school, I bought myself a pewter ring of little people holding hands. They circled my finger like the physical manifestation of "Give Peace a Chance." I called it my "O Siem" ring. Music was my heartbeat and it helped me find my story.

The short existence of Blank Spaces has been a whirlwind of discovery, excitement, and fear. From my initial announcement (which was only in May!) to this moment now when I find myself writing a blurb for the second issue, life has been filled to the brim with a blurry ‘is this even real?’ kind of feeling.