I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since this blog was discussed, envisioned, planned out, and executed. We were headed to Colorado, and on the long drive I asked my husband how I could help him and his busines. His answer was, “You could write the blog.”
At that point I had a lot of thoughts and emotions running through my head. It had been a life-changing 5 months. I had an aha moment in January and began a journey back to myself. The idea of writing a blog and sharing my personal story and thoughts was scary to me, but I knew that it could be helpful for me as well. I wanted to help my husband in this hard work of keeping a small business going, and I wondered if stepping out of my comfort zone might be good for me.
And so the long drive consisted of many long talks (when the kiddos were quiet) of what I would write about and what I would share. I came home a week later and began writing up a storm, storing away posts and planning for their future launch. It was good to get my swirling thoughts on “paper.”
I learned after several posts that it wasn’t just about me. Many other people had had similar experiences, and many of us had had the same struggles. It was a community. While comments now have slowed down, those initial comments brought tears to my eyes. It felt like I was just writing for a big void, but when comments came back it made it so real.
We head for Colorado again soon, and I look forward to the chance to be with just my family and the memories that we will make. I look forward to taking time and reflecting over the year. I wonder what the time there will inspire. What will the long drive produce? What ideas will come forward?
Colorado has a way of doing that.
I’ll end with part of a Colorado post from last year:
On day 2 of our cabin stay, I had a couple of hours to myself while the kids were swimming and the baby (he’s 2, but he’s my baby) was napping. I decided to do some circuit training. I didn’t have weights or anything so I used a jar of Ragu and a can of baked beans for my bicep blasters. I was just hoping no one could see through the window! I used the back deck for my walking lunges and the stairs for box jumps. I did push-ups, reverse lunges, leg lifts, ab work, etc. all under the gaze of a big, stuffed deer head, affectionately called Bullwinkle by previous visitors.
I kind of surprised myself. I know it doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but 5 months before, I never would have done any of those things. Work-out? On vacation? Outside? Where people can see me? No way! But this experience showed me evidence of five months of hard work and a real change in myself. The confidence, change, and commitment that I had paraded around in my head as a theme were becoming a reality. It felt good. There under the Rocky Mountains it felt good to take the time to reflect and to be thankful and to feel strong.
