One Year

Exactly one year ago, I posted here for the first time. In all honesty, I didn't expect to keep up with this. The internet is riddled with blogs that have a few months of content, then sporadic posts, then nothing. This was started on kind of on a lark, so I'm pleased to see that it's become a fixture in my life despite all of the things I and my family have endured.

The best part about this is gaining the knowledge that I AM a writer. Not in the sense that I've published anything or gotten paid, but that it's a part of me. For example, I mentioned to a coworker a few months back that I write a blog and her question of "Why?" left me a bit speechless. I mean, it's nice to be able to keep friends and relatives updated on what's going on with my family, but if that were my only objective, this would be one of the many orphan blogs on the net. The only answer I had for her is that it's just something I do.

That said, I'm still struggling to figure out what kind of writer I am. My brief foray into sports writing took a back seat to my desire to write about my kid. Tuesdays with Cleo keeps me to a regular deadline, but figuring out what filler goes in between Tuesdays is something I still ponder. I've also been going through my old posts and it's interesting how much things have changed and evolved. This started out as a place for me to be zany and silly first with some insightful stuff packed in. The more I've written, the more I've found that I had the ingredients right, just that they go the other way around for me; less zaniness, more insight.

Should I live another 37 years, I would hope that I don't have another year as eventful as this last has been as it has truly taken me to the extremes of emotion. I've lost one of the people I was closest to in my life and yet also gained one; gone from witness to the first breath of life and then on to witness of the last. At times it's been painful and even overwhelming to write about these things, but all of the posts, even the silliest of them, have been cleansing for me. I'm glad I took the effort to start this project. Thank you for tagging along with me for the last year and let's see if I can keep this up for another.