As I move closer to retirement, the question of who I am becomes complicated and I am no longer certain of the answer. Within a few months I will retire from Beit Issie Shapiro where I have worked for 22 years. After defining myself for so long as a social worker, family therapist, information and fundraising communications writer, I am challenged to re-create myself. I made aliyah in 1986 with my husband, Matanya (who passed away in 2001) and daughter, Debbie. Since I’ve always been a little split in my talents and interests, I’ve enjoyed creative writing on the one hand and therapeutic work on the other and was fortunate to find outlets for both during my working career. I love working with groups and have led many women’s empowerment and study groups, which have been a source of interest and of friendship –most of my best friendships grew out of these groups. I have been a volunteer for Esra as a counselor, trainer of befrienders, and writer and I’m always grateful to you for publishing my short pieces in the Esra magazine. I tend to write creative non-fiction and like to make people think, feel and laugh. Recent stories published by Ezra include: Sing Therapy, Israel Today and Point of View, all of which can also be read on my blog at: http://sharonswritespo.blogspot.com My published works include: A Book of Life for an Adopted Child (Howard Timmins, Inc. 1974) and Snoezeling – Controlled Multisensory Stimulation: A Handbook – co-written with Dr. Michele Shapiro and published by Beit Issie Shapiro in 2002. In 2008, I finally took the opportunity to pursue another long-cherished dream - to learn to sing. Today I sing for two choirs: Barberina, an all-woman’s a capella group under the direction of Alex Eshed, and Koleynu, a mixed voice choir directed by Patrick Kelly from the USA. With singing filling up every space in my life my creative writing has taken a back seat but my resolution for when I retire, is to get back to some serious creative scribbling.