Y’all, I just realized we’re almost at 100 posts since the migration to WordPress was completed last year, and it’s been so much fun! I started a blog as a personal journey back in 2008, when I was a bright-eyed young innocent, just starting out in the big, wide world of adulting.
And that, obviously, escalated pretty quickly.
So when adulting took over my whole world, the blog fell by the wayside. Loss, betrayal, joy, heartache, marriage, divorce, opportunities, accomplishments, and LIFE got in the way. And I stopped expressing my thoughts about life, because frankly, nobody wants to read all that drama, including me.
So why now, you ask?
Maybe you’re not asking, but that’s ok, because I’m tellin’ anyway. It was a tiny little blast from the past I found when I logged into my personal email account on an actual computer and decided to do some inbox organization. Because COVID gave us all a whole lot of unexpected time to handle that kind of stuff, and I’d been avoiding it for years.
Literal years, y’all. Like – I had emails dating back to 2003. I’m mildly ashamed at how long I’d ignored some of those emails just collecting internet dust, if I’m honest. But I was totally unprepared to face the emotions that hit me in the face when I found this in my email:
It was an old blog comment from my Dad, one of my few faithful blog readers. He was a frequent commenter and never, ever hesitated to say how proud he was that I was expressing myself in writing.
“You’ve got a knack for that, honey” he’d say.
“I love that article you put up on your webpage” he’d casually throw out, even though the articles were blog posts and the webpage was most definitely a free blog.
Being smacked in the face by those memories of my precious Daddy was part of it. Realizing that the journey I’m walking could shine lights in dark places or help someone else on the same path, just by realizing we’re not alone, was the other part.
I don’t have a fancy list-of-100-things for you today, and there’s no end to the sorries that I feel about all that. Y’all already know that lists are my very favorite thing. But this blog is still very personal. It’s just me behind the keyboard, and I’m nothin’ fancy. I’m not monetized or sponsored or even affiliated. All the good blogs say I should be, and that’s ok for them. But this is my real life journey and ramblings, and I’m so, so grateful that you’re traveling it with me.
I treasure the messages and feedback I get, because it turns this journey into a dialogue and reminds me that all my craziness resonates with other people too.
Someday, these posts might become treasured memories. Someday, the blog might develop a purposeful strategy and become a vehicle to drive us all to better places.
Someday, I might come up with better analogies.
But right now, I know this is where I need to be, doing what I need to do, and I’m grateful for that reminder, and for the chance to join you on your journey.
And maybe, just maybe, we can shine a light in some dark places.
xoxo, alohilana 