Sometimes You Have to Take Some Time to "De-Blog"

It has been a very long time since I have written in my blog. You might say I got “blog clog”…..similar to “brain fog” except that while I could think of many topics to write about, I just could not seem to translate them down onto a page. So, I took an entire year to unclog, or “de-blog” and yes I am going stop now with the metaphors.

I will admit, that I have been tempted to give it up completely, but, then realized that if I gave up,  where would all those stored up words end up. And besides, I thought it might be important to share my thoughts with the world, should any part of the world care to know my thoughts.(lol)

Much has happened in the year that I have been away from my writing. I have moved twice, I spent a month in Alaska, I tried a new business venture, lost a few pounds but found it again except it was twice the volume  and perhaps the most significant change while “de-blogging” this past year, was discovering the answer to a question I am always asking myself. “What do I want to do with the rest of my life?”

I have really been reflective this past year, sometimes feeling discouraged with the thought that I seem to have accomplished so little in my 66 years of life, and other times, a burst of hope seemed to be  re-generated in me and I just wanted to forge through the next 66 years of life ahead and do everything I can to make a difference. I am in a place somewhere between those two extreme thoughts. I cannot change my past, but I am able to make decisions that could change my future.

I started to write again, this time, with more fluidity and purpose. I also re-booted my love for paper crafting and marketing my projects under the name PaperHugs. I will be blogging about that more in the future. My plan is, to somehow weave what I love to create, into inspirational life-giving messages that will leap from the pages of my blog into the hearts of those who read it.

But for the sake of this blog, I wanted to emphasize the healing power of being simply surrounded by the love of family, and particularly the unconditional love of grandchildren. As I mentioned earlier, I was blessed to spend a month with my two daughters and four grandchildren. Unlike any other time, I was acutely aware of how they loved me and actually desired my company. I am not sure why I was more aware of this visit, or even why I noticed that every moment I spent with them was a moment that I could choose to make a memory that I could leave behind, or just make it another visit from their mom or Nana. Below are some of my favorite pics from my visit to Alaska.

I made sure that each one of them had special individual time with me that centered around their favorite place to eat, or thing to do. I will never forget the evening , I took my 8-year-old grandson to dinner at Red Robin, and we got a booth for just the two of us. He said it was so cool and that he never sat in a booth before. I laughed, cause I knew what he meant, that though he came with mom and dad and his two sisters in the past, they always had a large booth or table. But, this was his first time in a “booth” with just him and his Nana. I made it seem like he was my “date” for the evening, and he was such a gentleman. He ordered our food, and had great conversation with me. It was not only memorable, it was  locked in the vault of both of our minds and hearts.

I did this with each one of my Alaskan grandchildren. It was an epic time spent, not because it just so happened that time was available, but because I realized I had to MAKE the time.

We, sometimes, all have to lay down the things that keep us too busy, or preoccupied, and take a long breath, (for me it was a year-long breath) and learn the answers to the questions we often wonder about, like, “what do I want to do with the rest of my life?”

For me, I want to create more moments like the ones I had with all of my grandchildren. I want to love what I do, and do what I love. And again for me, that is writing, and my paper craft creations, both of which I desire to wholeheartedly and unselfishly pour love and hugs into each and every project and that it would be felt by either the reader of the words I write or recipient of any one of my creations.

Whether you blog, or need to “de-blog”, or simply unclog or unplug, I pray you become aware of what is truly important in this life, to love, and then love even more.