twenty years of blogging
On August 26, 2006, I sat at our family desktop computer and began setting up a blog.
I had completed two online writing classes at our local community college. The classes felt upscale as we submitted our writing assignments to a chat page where our professor and other students could provide feedback. Those were the early days of being online.
At the time, I had been reading Lisa Whelchel’s (Blair from The Facts of Life) online journal. She may have called it a weblog. She posted about hearing about a new “thing” called a blog.
She researched three different sites for her readers to do their own investigation.
I perused WordPress, Blogger (Blogspot), and Squarespace.
I chose WordPress and, as is often the case, felt I'd made the wrong choice, since Blogger seemed to be the most popular site at the time. I stayed a loyal WordPress user until 2017, when I launched my website on Squarespace.
Back in 2006, our desktop was located in our small kitchen nook. A few years earlier, we became a family of five and outgrew the dining table, exchanging it for a refrigerator in the back corner and adding a computer landing spot.
I have vivid memories of being whacked in my back by the fridge door during writing sessions. Isn’t there a saying about suffering for one’s art?
The internet and the world of blogging were fresh and innocent at the time.
I was always explaining what a blog was to others, and sometimes I still do.
Our blogs placed blogrolls on our sidebars to support and shout out the bloggers we liked. We nominated our fellow bloggers for different awards. We built online friendships around our writing passions and dreams.
Someone on high also handed down rules to help bloggers increase traffic and followers. The mandate I remember vividly was the paramount need to blog several times a week.
Clearly, I now follow my own rhythms and post when the mood strikes and the body allows.
I am grateful for the wealth of hours and years writing online. I have fond memories of my obsession with using an ellipsis. I truly thought it was darling to use them liberally throughout a single post. I believe it was part of my learning that I could fill space with my thoughts instead of letting “...” stand in.
I have deep gratitude for all my varied dimensions of quality over the years. I deeply know how often writing online is never perfect.
A post can go live, and I immediately see a typo that seems impossible after rereading every single word hundreds of times.
These twenty years have allowed me to find my voice and to applaud other writers who write in a manner I could never replicate. My style is indelibly imprinted on my soul, and to try another way would be folly and inauthentic.
I am humbled by every comment, share, email, text, and follower over these years. I have always wanted to write to let people know they are not alone and to impart encouragement. I also want to point to the importance of paying attention to God in our midst.
I dreamed of writing a book as a child and beyond. Writing a book isn’t on my radar. As I grow older, my life intersects with more people, and it is vital to keep their stories as their own. This doesn’t mean I'm without dreams related to words. I hope as I progress in feeling better, some of those ideas will go beyond simply percolating.
2026 has been a big year for me and my family, and we still have a quarter left.
The final Washington kid graduated from college and has already moved in with college friends. Carl and I celebrated 40 years of marriage. I am starting to turn the corner towards better pain management.
These are good things to celebrate and acknowledge. It is also vital to say aloud how parts of the year or the last several years stacked up in the hard pile.
I tend to push past rough spaces and sprint towards smooth ground.
As I allow my feet to firmly settle into the places I have walked, I gain not only perspective but a newfound sense of reverence. It causes me to remember, reflect, and grasp ahold of gratitude.
Two tidbits I learned this summer:
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want.
An asterisk could be next to this request.
What I have learned our adult children aren't tethered to us without a voice.
It’s what we strive for as parents, but it is not an easy on/off switch situation.
Carl and I decided to celebrate our anniversary together a few weeks after the actual date. We decided to have a family dinner out on our anniversary.
The reality is, our kids have jobs, commitments, and lives, and it was a big ask to have their lives line up with our wishes. It worked out for all, including my mom, to dine on the Vancouver waterfront.
This ask led to one of our most memorable nights out.
When no one could decide on appetizers because of likes, dislikes, and dietary needs, I put on my firstborn bossiness and ordered two plates of burrata, berries, and balsamic drizzle with gluten-free crostini for the win. We thoroughly enjoyed it, and no one would allow the plates to be removed until they were fully devoured.
Our entrees were scrumptious, and no one wanted dessert; then two people did, and after all was said and done, everyone shared or had their own dessert.
We lingered, exchanged seats, chatted, and laughed. We took our bodies down to the waterfront and basked in a comfortable evening.
I am so glad we asked for what we wanted.
Maybe it was also gathering with loved ones who were willing to say yes, even though it meant strategically lining up their lives to accommodate.
Take the time to plan what will feed your soul and isn't wrapped up in a should.
I have mentioned this to a few friends, so for you, I apologize for the redundancy. As we looked forward to our 40th anniversary, we initially shot for the moon. We had our passports ready, and we knew this would be a time free of many obligations.
As time passed, we began to whittle down what we wanted and needed.
We needed to accept the fact that I was still a ways from being the Helen of a few years ago.
We are a bit weary from turning off the highway of deep parenting (at least at this stage).
We didn’t want to deal with the potential for cancellations, delays, or weather issues from airlines.
We didn't want to scurry around being tourists.
After all the what-ifs, our criteria and priorities came down to three "we want" statements.
We wanted beauty before our eyes.
We wanted a new place, in a way, but experienced differently.
We wanted a bit of a splurge and some luxury.
We decided on Pacific City on the Oregon coast.
If you know us, the coast is our happy place. It doesn’t take a lot to thrill us, and being there always does the trick. Maybe we are the king and queen of redundancy.
We stayed at The Inn at Cape Kiwanda, and it checked all of our boxes and more. Whether we were on the sand because of the easy access or walking through our door, we were confronted with beauty.
Haystack Rock was our constant view and fascination. We even unexpectedly saw some beloved friends. This highlighted our summer because we took the time to be true to who we were during this specific time, not who we should be or do based on a milestone anniversary.
I have many more thoughts, and it reveals the need to write more frequently.
May it become a reality.
I am stunned by 20 years of writing and blessed to share these digital pages with you all.
