July, You Were a Good One

Remember that time last summer that my blogging became sporadic and then I told everyone I was pregnant? Yeah, that was rough. This summer it's just been full of life with three kids, contributor posts for A Beautiful Mess, e-course prep, our California vacation, a dog needing minor surgery and constant supervision, and the glass of orange juice that killed our lap top. I have blinked and school is almost upon us again!

I was walking around Disney developing a post in my head about traveling with kids that I've forgotten most of my tips about and have wanted to share more about Smith's birth story lately and reflect on how challenging the last part of last year was for our family. So many blog post ideas and so little time to get them into this space. Sometimes it makes me sad that I can't offer more time to this blog because I know that even though it's a public place and I write to share things with an audience in mind, so much of this is just for me. The process of making things, the weekend stories about where we went, the photos of our messy house one week and a room tour the next-it's all so I can remember how this worked five or ten years from now.

Sometimes I ache to record it all and then other times I wonder what I'm so worried about forgetting. The details, I suppose. This can't be the Truman Show but if there was someone following us around three times a week filming us and turning out highlight reels (with some lowlights included for good measure), I think I'd be on board with that. As long as that person didn't comment on how many days I go between washing my hair and they'd need to work for coffee and diy projects because that's what my cup is overflowing with these days.

I think this may be me coming out of a season of tiredness and privacy and into a season of connection again. Last year left me without much left to give after tending to the important stuff but I'm figuring it out again and the fog is thinning. It's still here but I can see a bit further on each month! It feels good.

With that, I'm promising nothing but hoping for something to show up that has been a bit absent. Words with humor and heart instead of just instructions, peeks into our space even when it's out of sorts and without feeling the need to justify our messes. We're messy people and I feel bad about it a lot. I'm working on being less messy while also acknowledging the struggle is real. An update to the design of this space as it's long over due. I've been reading through Promise and Elise's Blog Design Love 2.0 class and am hoping to make those changes myself in the following months.

We're also less than three months away from some big life changes. We'll be finished with the Army and moving back to Springfield, Lord willing and the creek don't rise. Big unknowns and big hopes are ahead and with that brings all the feelings. We're going to miss our friends here that have helped our time here feel a little less challenging on those most challenging days. We're also going to miss the huge mountain that takes up half of the windshield view when I'm driving downtown. A new chapter. Also, trying to stay present whilst we transition.

I'm hoping to share most of that in the appropriate ways in this space and thank you for stopping by every now and then to share in our lives. This space and this medium are so valuable to me.

-Rachel