Happy Birthday to My Blog!

Just this past Father's Day, I wrote this post that included a comment about how kids bringing breakfast in bed to their moms only happens on TV.

I was wrong.

I swear to you, I have never mentioned the subject to my kids.  Or anyone.  Frankly, getting served breakfast in bed does not sound that appealing to me.

So I've been attempting to get of my ass lately and do some things around the house, in an effort to feel like I'm doing something useful.  The other day I did a major "mom-job" to A's room.  His room has always been difficult.  He does his best to keep it picked up, but it eventually gets away from him.  He's a quirky kid, and always involved in some kind of project or creation that involves duct tape and paper and paper clips, fabric, string, cardboard, whatever.  Lots of small stuff.  And organizing is NOT a talent of his.  So I went in to do battle and start the school year with a clean, streamlined room.  It took the entire day.  But it looks really good in there now, and he's thrilled about it.  J's room is next on the list.

Anyway, they were so excited about it all that they wrote me a DARLING little card that night.  Very sweet.  And then the next morning, I was served breakfast in bed.  Yep.  The hubby had to get up to go to work, and apparently the kids had told him their plan and asked him to wake them up when he got up.  He did.  They made the breakfast completely by themselves.  It was scrambled eggs, a couple waffles, and a glass of milk.  By the way, some of the best scrambled eggs I've ever eaten.  J knows his eggs.  And at 7:30 in the morning, they came in and woke me up with the tray.  I was completely surprised.  And groggy.  So then, half asleep, and with two boys standing about 4 inches away from me, I ate the breakfast.  I was very touched, and now I know that it really does happen.

So cute.

But this is not necessarily the subject I was thinking about today.  It is an anniversary for me.  Well, tomorrow it is, but I'm writing this today, so...

On August 22, 2011, I wrote my first blog post!  I can't believe it's been a whole year.  And this morning I was spending some time looking back at some of my old posts, and what a year it has been!  I also discovered another benefit to writing this:  It's like a journal.  I can look back at it and remember what I was doing those days, what my life was like.  Pretty emotional.  In a way it has been a big year.  Of course we were all shaken up by the loss of my dad, which was certainly the biggest event of the year.  And although we don't lose loved ones every year (thank God), every year really is significant.  If you take the time to really think back, that is.  We've gone through a school year.  Another year of sports.  I have gone up and done and inside and out emotionally, and I'm still doing that.  It makes me wonder if I'll ever stop...

I also noticed how cyclical my life is.  Here I am again, ready for a new school year to start.  Cleaning the kids' rooms.  Obsessing over the STATE FAIR!!!!!  Excited for fall, and feeling nostalgic.  It's almost like Groundhog Day over here.  Year after year.  The same, but different.

I looked at some of my drafts that I never published.  I wrote some boring starts.  I wrote some intense starts.  Too intense for the public.  I wrote some personal family grief.  Stuff I couldn't post because I don't want to hurt anyone or cause (more) drama in my family.  So although I open myself up on here, and I am very honest, I have to keep it close to ME, and make sure that I'm not opening up others too much on here without their consent.  And sometimes I feel like I'm pushing it, so I hold off on hitting the "publish" button.  Looking back now, I made the right choice.  But it was still therapeutic to write it all.

So here we are, a year later.  Thanks to you all for hanging out with me, and thanks to any of you newbies for joining the club.  I can't tell you how much it means to me that you're willing to give me a piece of your time to "listen" to me, and how much each and every comment means to me.  Believe me, I think about what you all say.  I follow your advice.  I tell hubby about it.

One of my goals for this second year is to get out there some more.  I'd like to write about some different subjects, and really test out my chops.  I might try some reviews, try some commentary, maybe even some creative writing.  We'll see.  I'm just having some fun with this.  I look forward to sharing more with you all and to hopefully earning some new followers.

And in between, I'll be learning how to become an expert on the motorcycle.  I got a new helmet the other day!  It has purple butterflies on it.