Yesterday my kiddo and I were talking about taking the easy route. She is a bright little girl, for whom most things come easy. Consequently, she can get by with little effort, and those activities that do require effort get put aside. I was sharing with her how I used to be much more like that – I still am, to a certain extent – but that with age I learned how good it feels to stretch yourself, and have a feeling of pride in learning something new, or accomplishing something that seemed impossible. Around 2009 I bought a gorgeous leather journal with beautiful narrow-ruled paper and a leather tie.…