What now?

When I glance at the side bar of my blog I realize that this little engine that could has been chugging along for almost six years. Holy shiz you guys, that is a long time! It's been at a standstill for the past couple of years for many reasons. It's tough being a day in and day out blogger, sometimes you feel inauthentic, sometimes people leave really mean comments, sites like Pinterest and Instagram make it quick to get an inspiration boost, it's a huge time suck, original content...it's a killer, life is hard/good/busy/etc. All of these reasons make it really challenging to stay on top of it. A few weeks ago I was at a family wedding and I was asked why I didn't blog anymore and the truth is a muddle of all of the above things. As my kids have gotten older the hamster wheel of baby and toddlerhood morphs into a completely new dynamic of parenting. The time where they're self sufficient, funny, smart and sassy but also becoming the person that they will always be, and for us it seemed as though it was a time that needed a little privacy. Time to grow as kids and as a family. That doesn't mean that I haven't missed writing, it just meant that I needed time to keep things a little closer to my heart. 

I used to read blogs that had a voice, ones that I could relate to. Not a clone of me but maybe someone who was more brave/scared, busy/bored or quiet/loud than myself. I miss that, reading and hearing an authentic voice. Getting the visual is easy, there are lots of imaged based sites (that I LOVE, don't kid yourself) where we can browse the pretty for hours. But as much as I love pretty I also want to just talk out there to space like I did before. I miss it. So now I'm sort of back to the beginning where my Mom, family and BFFs are the only ones commenting, but that's ok because it's a fresh start. We all could use a fresh start sometimes. So with that I'm welcoming some input. If you've been a reader of my blog way back, I mean waaaay back because it's been awhile what would you like to see here?

image via