It was a beautiful spring day today, made even more pleasant by a catch-up literary lunch I was treated to by my lovely friend Chris. We hadn’t chatted for a while because we would usually catch up on our daily dog-walking rounds — Chris with Pooch and me with my boy, Ryder, but alas, I am no longer making the morning park circuit.

So instead, Chris and I high-tailed it over to our local bagel shop where we covered the literary waterfront, so to speak. We talked about kids, books, blogs, writers, and writing — and more. We came together not just to catch up, but to celebrate, because Chris, the mom of three wonderful children, Sam, Lizzie, and little Hannah; Chris, the runner and organizer of a girl’s running group; and Chris, the lover of books and history, can now add a new feather to the many caps she wears so gracefully: local writer.

Chris has just launched a wonderful blog called Braving the Wilds: Field Notes from the Suburban Jungle (chrisadamsbeckett.wordpress.com), in which she explores whatever strikes her fancy during her wanderings and musings around our hometown of Montclair. The results to date are a set of essays on everything from the glories of ketchup to catching squirrels that are witty, entertaining, and educational. I was thrilled last week when I came upon the pink house that Chris profiled in a story on Thomas Edison’s concrete home-building scheme. I’d passed the house many times, but never seen a discreet brass plaque: Thomas Edison, 1912. Who knew? Not me — that is, until Chris enlightened me.

Giving her love of writing free rein in her blog has been a wonderful gift to herself for Chris — and it’s exciting to ponder what paths her blossoming writing endeavors will take her down. She’s already started contributing stories to a local online community site — I’m sure there’s a book in the works. What a pleasure it is not just to talk about writers and writing, but to engage in this joyful pastime as a way of seeing the world anew. Bravo, Chris! Write on.