The long and the short of it.

I read a blog post a few weeks ago that gave me pause. The author, a mom, explained her reasoning for focusing on the positive in her writing. Though she expressed a small bit of regret that others would likely come to view her life as perfect if she only blogged about the successes, she preferred it that way, believing that happy begets happy. I admire her for that.

That being said... I can't do that. I've tried and it's merely resulted in writer's block. It's not that I'm inherently negative. It's just that this is my journal. In it, you will find the good, the bad, and the ugly. Unlucky for my readers (are you still out there?), I try to avoid a public persona - a false representation of my life as a wife and mother in my early 30's. I want to capture everything in the most transparent way - to remember each day with all its ups and downs (and sideways, and backwards).

Granted, I lack the time to include everything, so this serves as somewhat of a cross-section. I do my best to include a few pictures, some stories, an occasional opinion... all of these contribute to a patchwork - one that encompasses every shade, each thread reflecting a moment, precious and unique. Some are joyful, others upsetting, still others downright hilarious.

I admire the person who blogs deliberately - one who selects material based on its ability to uplift. Believe it or not, I do this, too. It's just different. Hopefully, somewhere in the blatant candidness of my blog, my posterity will discover that it was in the adversity that I learned, in the sadness that compassion became my friend, and in the chaos that I experienced laughter.