Happy Birthday, Blog!

Today is my little blog's one-year birthday! In less than an hour, I'll be headed up north for the week, girls in tow, with the fervent hope that Jason will, indeed, be flying in on time on Monday night and will drive up to meet us on Tuesday morning at the latest. We all miss him. But in the meantime, I wanted to jot down a few things this past year of blogging has given me:

-a way to write down the high- and low-lights of Annie and Jemma's childhoods, getting in the mundane daily details as well as the big events. It truly is going by so quickly and I especially want to remember the words they say, the obsessions they have, and the moments we experience together. I hope they'll treasure some of these posts when they're all grown up.

-a way to re-connect (or stay connected) to far-away friends and fellow bloggers. It sure beats sending out a mass e-mail every few weeks to let them know what I'm up to!

-a form of therapy for myself. Writing has always been one of the ways I work through difficult issues, and no issue (for me) is more complicated than motherhood. It's nice to have a place to actually vent my frustrations or celebrate my successes. I love getting feedback from other people who have gone through the same things, and I enjoy the sense of perspective I get when I go back and read old entries.

-a way to practice writing daily - to sharpen my skills, to play around with words, and to think like a writer again after so many years of thinking like a teacher and/or a mom.

And now, off to spend the 4th of July holiday up north - the only place I'd really want to celebrate one of the best weeks of summer. Lots of red, white, and blue-themed pictures to come upon our return next weekend!