Absence makes the heart grow fonder? I hope?

Tips, tricks, inspiration, and encouragement for storytellers of all stripes

Greetings from Sarasota—

My last newsletter was way back on December 19 of 2025.

I do apologize for the lengthy absence. I could blame the holidays, I suppose, but mostly my beloved Rebecca and I have been super busy preparing for a big change.

On February 2, we will load up the pups and start driving north. We’ll overnight at a hotel, probably somewhere in Tennessee.

On February 3, we will arrive at our new home in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

On February 4, we will wake up as full-blown Michiganders—although Rebecca grew up there, so she’ll simply reclaim her title while I strive to convert my Midwestern childhood and early adulthood (Indiana, Illinois, and St. Louis) into mitten-shaped acceptance. Every time I’ve visited up there with Rebecca, it’s felt more and more like home calling me back, so I’m pretty sure the wolverines won’t eat my face.

And, in a lovely bit o’ calendar-kismet, February 4 will mark exactly nine years since our first date way back in 2017.

That lighthouse in the thumb is Harbor Beach, where Rebecca grew up. And our new home is basically being run over by the front tire of that car.

We’ve been talking about it for a couple years, for lots of reasons. And last fall, when the most perfect house fell in our laps—it’s nestled between two lakes, surrounded by trees—we finally knew it was time.

I won’t go into all the details here, but if you’re Floridian and we haven’t had a proper farewell, please feel free to email or call.

Page&Stage may still be a bit hiccup-y the next few weeks as we get packed and unpacked and settled. But these newsletters are gonna keep coming, and the podcasts will get spinning up again. And by April I will have my first online workshops available for you, too!

I certainly owe you all a recap on 11 DAYS, and that’ll be coming next week.

So, no big tip or trick this week, just this life update and a heartfelt thank you. So many of you impacted me during my 13 years in Sarasota. It has been such a joy and an honor to be your friend, your colleague, your teacher, your director, or some combo of all those.

All gratitude—

Jason “Time to Mitten Up” Cannon