BEGIN. AGAIN

via

I started blogging (way) back in 2005. I didn't even know what a blog was, or why I was doing it. But it was fun, and everyone else seemed to be doing it... so, like the good twenty-something I was... I followed along.

My blog evolved a lot over the years. I graduated college. I got married. I moved... several times. I changed hobbies, traveled a bit, got jobs, lost jobs, became an Aunt (several times over). I'm so glad I started blogging when I did. It's so neat to go back and read through all those old posts. 

But, recently... I have felt sort of weighed down by my blog. My husband and I have faced our fair share of heartache the last few years, starting with the loss of my father in 2013. I've tried several times to sort of revive the "blog love"... most recently by signing up to participate in the 100 happy days challenge. I thought focusing on the happy would help overcome some of the sadness... and then maybe I would find joy in sharing my story... or at least documenting for myself to look back on later. 

I started my happy days on June 1 of this year with this picture:

The next day, my sweet baby Aslan (pictured above) passed away unexpectedly. The next day we found out my mother in law had cancer. She died 3 weeks later. 

And so began a two and a half month break. A break from a lot of things... especially blogging. 

Several times over the last few months I've considered trying to compose a post that did the recent events justice but also gave me a chance to move on. I just couldn't seem to do it. 

When I looked up synonyms for the word revive, I saw the phrase breathe new life into. This is exactly what I want to do. With myself, with my job, with my relationships...and yes...with my blog. 

One way I'm challenging myself to do this is with a new blog. 

And...so here I am...trying to begin... again (again).  As for my old blog and my old posts? They are safe and tucked away for me to revisit. But this is a new stage of my life, and there is a certain freedom in a clean slate. And... I'm excited to start this new journey.