Since I started my website glutenfreesage.com—My Sage Page—and met Kristen Alden my web designer at North Coast Post, I have started reading more books. You’d think I’d be reading more blogs… but I’m not. She has a tremendous knowledge base, and I have ordered at least four books that she recommended. And all four filled me with little treasures of information I needed to give the Sage Page momentum. Thanks Kristen!

It definitely ties things together—just not in the most obvious of ways. I recently read this Forbes article on how to get the best ROI from reading by Steven Kotler. In his article, he states that one of the unsettling facts about being an author in this digital age is how frequently people tell him that they don’t read books. Sometimes they read magazine articles. Often blogs. He says:

The average adult reading speed is about 250 words per minute. The average blog post about 800 words long. This means that most of us read the average blog post in 3.5 minutes. So what do you get for those minutes?

Well, in my case, usually about three days worth of effort.

That got me thinking. The amount of time I’ve devoted to my family has been the largest investment I’ve made. In Anything. Ever. The returns are more than I could have ever imagined! Longer than education, or hours spent working. The time I’ve put forth in raising children and family development alone have been enormous. I’ve always wondered when I would be able to say that out loud. But now that my two sons (26 and 29YO) have graduated college and are living beautiful lives, I’m closer than ever to seeing it all right before my eyes. The ROI—return on this investment of true love and devotion—are bountiful and incredibly rewarding.

My website Sage has been like a third child. My love for her has grown tremendously in the last three months. She’s just a newborn. How do I hold her little head up? Is everything going to be okay? I’m anxious and eager—but very happy.

Since my Bachelors is in Nursing and my life degree is in family, marriage, and food (LOL), there’s no manual. No journalism degree. It takes a lifetime to know how to handle a newborn like Sage. And like a mom, I don’t want to make any mistakes—at least any big ones.

According to Steven, the 3 minutes it takes for you to read one of my blog posts equates to 3 days of my personal experience. That books are better to read than blogs for their condensed knowledge and your Return on Investment. Hmmm… maybe Sage could be a book? An Ultimate Idea? It’s gestational age is around 20 years in my brain, heart, soul, and serious personal research.

My intention for Sage is to help others live fuller, happier, healthier lives. Though it may get seen as little as 3 minutes at a time, it’s still of value and a WIN-WIN if it’s inspiring, educating or uplifting someone.

For now, I am grateful for this creative outlet. I want to share tips and resources on making day-to-day living better for those living with Celiac Disease. Or at least to provide inspiration to anyone reading this—gluten free, or not.

Sage is my starting place, but maybe—just maybe—I’ll invest in writing a book. And until then, definitely A LOT more book reading and research for me in the hopes that my efforts will improve her outcome. My life is so much richer with Sage. And if there’s one thing I know for certain, it’s that she’s worth it.