Still somewhere in the middle

When I started this blog four years ago, I was in a very different stage of life.  My first child was two years old, making a shift into a stage of being more independent, and leaving me a few minutes of time every now and again to think straight.  I realized I had been so entrenched in the cycle of parenting, a full-time job, and household and family management that I had spent virtually no time on myself.  As I usually do, I bit off way more than I could chew and tried to jump back into everything at once.  My blog was a way for me to share that experience, my successes and failures, and in the process I learned that I really enjoy writing.

Fast-forward a few years, and I am in a completely new, yet similar, situation.  My twin daughters are two years old, my son is finishing up first grade, and that cycle of parenting, full-time job, and household and family management is a lot more complex than it used to be.  I learned a lot about parenting and about myself in the years before my daughters were born.  While the parenting part today is like hovering in the eye of a tornado on a daily basis, I knew over the past few years that this day would come when I could think again.

I am nowhere near out of the small-child segment of this life.  Twin toddlers are a force to be reckoned with.  Finding the time to prioritize my son and husband while the girls turn on the gas burners and climb on a chair to grab the knives is not easy.  Yet I know that even while I balance everything, I have to find time for myself because everyone around me benefits.

The content of my blog posts early on was following my experiences as I parented and started to get back into other hobbies.  Because parenting and family are still where I spend most of my energy, I expect most of my posts will reflect that.  But I want to try some new things as well.  Product and book reviews, current events, and finding inspiration in what others are blogging are some of my immediate plans.  Most importantly, I just want to write, and spend more time interacting with those of you who come along and share your thoughts with me.

I know you’ve been here before.  You’ve transitioned from an all-encompassing stage of life, whether it be parenting or something else, and you looked around to figure out what comes next.  How did you stick with it?  What cautionary tale can you share to keep me on the right path?  I need all the help I can get.

Thanks for joining me here in the middle.  It’s cozy and I think I’ll stay awhile.