A lot can happen in ten years…

This month, I celebrate 10 years of blogging. I have written on different platforms over the years (Tabulas, LiveJournal, Blogger, and now WordPress) and I have changed so very very much that it’s almost painful to go back and read those original posts from so many lifetimes ago.

Ten years feels like nothing, yet it feels like forever.

Since I wrote my first blog post at midnight in the library of NC State’s campus, I grew up quite a bit. I ran through a few bad relationships, spent a summer in Peru, graduated from college, got jobs, quit jobs and finally met and married my amazing husband.

I’ve had three pregnancies and two amazing babies. I suffered the loss of miscarriage and the trauma of a uterine rupture. I bought and sold my first home. We bought our first home as a family of four. We celebrated and said goodbye to our sweet Border Collie, Krusty.

I wrote a book. We traveled to the mountains and the beach and Disney World and Alabama as a family. I traveled to New York and Atlanta and Charlotte and Philadelphia to continue to learn about blogging as more than a hobby.

I battled a very traumatic year full of injuries and burglary and depression. I sought help and feel healthier and stronger than ever before. I began to run and completed my very first half-marathon this year with plans to run another one next spring.

I’ve made new friends and had some incredible opportunities. I’ve had ups and downs and a strong community to walk me through them all. I made the decision to be a stay at home mom and have recently taken a part-time job where I can work while I am here with my boys. Over the years I have shared special moments from my life, recipes, crafts to do with kids and silly stories. I love blogging and I can’t wait to see what is next.

I am insanely blessed and thankful for the journey of the past ten years. I feel like I have led several lives and am in the best one yet. I am learning to take the good with the bad as it comes. This morning is a perfect example.

I was in a particularly quiet moment this morning (which is odd when you have young children) and I glanced down at my favorite mug. I decided to snap a photo and added a caption about being thankful for the journey.

Not even an hour later, I dropped the mug and it shattered into pieces. I try not to read too much into things but the lesson had to be faced. Even in our best of efforts, things don’t always go as planned. Our job is to react with gratitude and a willingness to hear.

I made lots of plans 10 years ago. Plans that had me living in NYC working for non-profits and the Foreign Service. Instead, I am still here in Raleigh. My location is the same, but my life could not be more different.

My husband and family have brought more joy to my heart than any job or city or opportunity ever could. So it’s appropriate that as we ramp up for Thanksgiving, I take a moment to reflect on the amazing goodness in my life over the past ten years. We rely on God to lead us and our sense of humor to get through the days. I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

Thank you for reading and supporting me along the way. Here’s to another ten years!