Graphite as my current medium

So I had a few extra minutes to write a quick note and I thought to myself... self, you should write about graphite. Then there was this back and forth in my head abut why I should / not  write about it. That part my therapist will have to work on, but as for you guys, I did decide to write about it. so here goes.
About a year ago I decided to start doing a few drawings in pencil and see how it went. It was a sort of back to my roots thing, and I really wanted to see what would be different now as compared to the last time I had dedicated some time to pencil work. (It was back in college... lets say just a few years ago...ok, about 16 - 18 years... sheesh you dont have to be pushy about it;)   ) Well I found that I was really enjoying working with pencil and then had to start finding things to draw. In this past year I finished about 30 pencil pieces all ranging in size from 4x6 to 9x12" . It has been a to really concentrate on the medium and try to fine tune it, to work toward a mastery of graphite. The process of where to lay each line, how dark or light, what type and brand gives the best effect for me. So far it has been a fantastic, painstaking, at times frustrating journey, and I do not see it ending soon. I have a long way to go before I feel that I have mastered the pencil and can tame it to do my will, but I look forward to moving forward toward that goal.
I have a friend ( no, really, I have a friend!) who commented that graphite was my "soul-medium". I appreciate that comment, and hope to continue to make wonderful works of art in this medium for some time. (I also don't think I ever thanked her for getting my now wife to drunk dial me many years ago... Thanks Cin, Jane and I both appreciate it.)
I will just end with one of my recent pieces, it is of my Daughter and her dog Ahab. Getting the likeness just right and playing with all of the textures kicked my ass, but I did manage to come up with a final piece I can live with. (In my mind I could work more on every piece, but there comes a point where every artist has to call it finished) So, thanks for listening to me rant on. Have a great day, and please let me know you are listening. (figuratively) ;)