On Wednesday, October 22, 2008, I decided to take over what had been, at that time, my husband’s blog. Tim is a fabulous and gifted writer, but he’s not a consistent writer. And in those days, my plan was to “update a blog once a week so that [our] little ‘buckets of sunshine’ [could] be seen by friends and family,” since Tim only managed to write a post every few months or so.

Here we are, almost fourteen years later, in a different spot entirely. Those “once a week” posts turned into a true pastime which turned into a passion and resulted in an author website, a published book, and more to come. I’m proud of the stories I’ve included here on this site, the work I’ve done to be where I am, but what I’m missing, honestly, are those posts about day-to-day experiences with my “buckets of sunshine.” The ones I shared with friends and family. Those are, to me, the most special pieces of writing I could ever put to the page. And without them, I’m feeling a little lost.

The past two years especially, I’ve been concentrating on promoting my work, promoting other people (even more so than my own work, which really is ridiculous), and honing my craft. Of course, I’m still a teacher, a mother, a runner, an editor, a wife, a friend, a community member, etc. So on a daily basis, things happen.

Funny things.

Sentimental things.

Memorable things.

Irreverent things.

Aaron still utters words (sometimes) that amaze me. Zoe and Talia still make me laugh with their identical ways. Melina still comes up with grand adventures that somehow often involve me. My parents still say things that make me roll my eyes.

But no one knows about these because I’m not writing about them.

Every once in a while I take a good look at what I’m doing in life, what my priorities are, and how I’m spending my time, and I recalibrate. This time, that recalibration will involve posting once a week with what’s happening in my life and the lives of those I love. I’ll be getting back to the basics, if you will, which I hope will help me find myself again.

Image of map and keys by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay.com.