Happy Blogiversary

Happy Blogiversary to me! I started this blog one year ago when life was vastly different from how it is today. I never could have imagined the twists and turns life has thrown our way over the past year. Let me count the ways . . .

1) I started this blog solely for our family and friends. I wasn't working, hadn't met many people here in Arizona, was just starting infertility treatments, and I wanted a way to reach out to my friends and still keep in touch. Also, I realized that maybe not everyone wanted to receive regular newsy emails from me. This blog format allows people to read when they want to and not have my ramblings forced upon them.

2) Within a week of starting the blog my dad suffered his terrible accident. I simply cannot believe that it is almost a year since he has stood, or walked, or combed his hair, or dialed a phone, or countless other things. I used this blog to help update friends and family during that horrible time. Going back and reading about that is sad.

3) Eventually I started writing about our struggles with infertility. I didn't at first, but I guess after a while I just decided that I needed more support than I could muster on my own. I wanted my friends and family to know what was going on with us, but it was just too hard to have the same conversation with everyone. So, I typed.

4) When it became evident that IVF was going to be in our future I began exploring other blogs written by women suffering from infertility. I found a lot of kindred spirits, people who understood exactly what I was feeling and could often explain it better than me. It made me feel like I wasn't quite such a nut. I found hope, and lots of it.

5) Then, surprise, I was pregnant! I celebrated here. It was a wonderful time to be blogging.

6) Sadly, I miscarried. When I couldn't cry anymore, and I couldn't talk anymore, I could type. And I found amazing support which really helped me get through the worst of it.

7) While finding the support I needed during that awful time I also realized that my words were helpful to others. It helped to know that what I was going through might be helpful to someone else in a dark time.

8) I have kept this honest, perhaps giving too much information, in the hopes that I can be passing along a little bit of understanding both to people I know, and to people I don't know.

9) And I continue to keep my real life friends and family informed, and I continue to make cyber friends and try to offer support and hope, not only to others, but it builds in me as I offer it.

So, whether you are a real life friend reading, or a new cyber friend reading, please continue along on this journey with me. Please continue to share in the comments, I really love the feedback, or drop me an email. I need my friends now more than ever. I'm really hoping that by my next Blogiversary I have many more blessings to write about (especially the kind that cry and coo) and that there is far less heartache to write about.

And lastly, thanks so much for the ongoing support, kind words, and prayers. It means the world to me, and makes Phoenix seem a lot less lonely, even though I'm hundreds or thousands of miles away from you.