Since my new obsession with Pinterest, I've discovered more blogs than I can read in a lifetime.
Creative blogs. Entertaining blogs. Informative blogs. Witty blogs. Pithy blogs. Ridiculous blogs.
So why do I have a blog? That's an especially poignant question, considering I haven't posted since mid-June.
I began this blog out of a need to write. I had been writing for a year and a half, pretty much every day, on Nicole's Caring Bridge site. Carol Terry, my BFF and Nicole's godmother, set up the Caring Bridge for us, while I was still in route from Jackson to New York one year ago today. I wrote the "My Story"section on August 31, 2008.
Today is four years since Nicole fell off the roof of her apartment building in New York. Today is four years since our lives changed dramatically. Today is a day to celebrate Nicole's life!
In four years, we've met countless new friends. I can't imagine not having them in our lives. So does that mean I am glad Nicole had an accident, because we've met some really wonderful folks we would not have met otherwise?
Of course not!
The reality is that bad things happen in life. But in the bad, so much good can be found, if only we are open to it. The same thing happened when my mom was in the hospital. We got very close to a few of the nurses and our lives are richer for knowing them.
In the last few days, we've anticipated and prepared for a major storm.
A hurricane. His name was Isaac.
That storm brought a wonderful new person into our home, and despite the rain, wind and concerns, we've had a really nice time.
My boy, Joey Joe, stayed on campus at Millsaps. No class today, so he --wait for it-- s.t.u.d.i.e.d.(!), worked out and went to visit Larry at the Country Club (mostly to model his new Millsaps Majors warm-ups). He transferred to Millsaps this semester to major in business...and to play football.
The opening game against their arch-rival Mississippi College was scheduled for tonight, but thanks to Isaac, it was delayed until Saturday at 3pm. We'll be ready!
So now I'm back to the question at hand. Why do I blog? I guess it's a way to chronicle my life. It's a way for me to gather my thoughts and focus on what's important to me. It's also a way to connect with others. And with a book in the works, it reminds me to think....to muse....to ponder....and to write.
Back to that Caring Bridge site: it was a way for me to let others know Nicole's condition so that I didn't have to say it over and over. It was a way to keep people up to date on what was most urgent, so they'd know specifically what to pray for. And in time, it was a way for those who had a vested interest in Nicole--through prayers and financial contributions and visits and much more--to see how their investment paid off by keeping up with her progress through the Caring Bridge.
But after awhile, it got kinda creepy. People would see us in public and ask how the lasagne we ate the night before was, or if we had a good time at the theatre. I wrote very candidly about our daily lives, and it was almost like people were stalking us, because they knew our every move. Nicole, who is actually the MOST private person I know, grew tired of everyone knowing her every move. So, Caring Bridge ended. But I still longed to write. The subject matter changed from Nicole and only Nicole to me. My thoughts. My journey back into the "real world" after being sidelined into Nicole-land. It was cathartic for me and still is. Because I'm still on that journey, still growing, still learning, and still venturing into the next phase of my life.
There's so much more to come!
Blessings to all who read this.
Susan
