Year One

Today is my one-year blogging anniversary. One year. Really. The procrastinator in me is a bit dumbfounded. After all, it took a couple of former college roommates two years of asking and gently prodding, "When are you starting a blog?" (as if the act was not a question, only the timing) before I finally took the plunge. Now, one year in, perhaps they were right. Now that this blog has become a near daily practice of sorts, it feels as if it was always sitting there, luggage packed, waiting at the train station for me to buy a ticket. And, well, what a pleasant ride. When I began this, I didn't know where it would lead. I did not anticipate reconnecting with old friends, sweet souls who I now correspond with monthly or weekly. I didn't anticipate the new ways in which I would get to know people I already thought I knew well. I wouldn't have believed you if you told me that complete strangers would pop by to see what my family and I were doing in this little space. Who knew that anyone would read this, besides my husband and my mother?

I had simply hoped to build a creative space for myself. A little spot to get back into the practice of writing, to capture inspiring/creative activities of my day, and chronicle one-of-a-kind Audrey moments. I didn't mean to build a home. But this does feel like a home of sorts: a place I hang my coat each day, protected from the elements, where I can kick off my shoes and unwind with a cup of hot chocolate. But one with a bit of whimsy. A tree house, perhaps. With a fireplace. Hmm.

Of course, just like my real home, the New Year has me evaluating my space, looking to see how I could better use the rooms. I have an idea for this little tree house of mine. It began small, unspoken - an idle piece of flint. Then, just over two weeks ago, on our last date night, pre-Nathan, Jason looked up from his soup and said, "You should start putting your fiction on the blog." And just like that, it was out in the open air - a spark.

I used to write stories. Stories that made me think and try to solve puzzles. And, while very few people read them (which, let's be honest, is sometimes better) I loved creating them. I completed my last story in 2004. But I have a stack of "story starts", pieces, if you will - puzzles just waiting to be solved. This year, I'm going to share some of those pieces with you. I haven't figured out the details yet, if it will be once a month a bit each week, but I plan on posting the story starts that I haven't been able to stop thinking about (most of which were also written in 2004 or earlier). My hope is that by writing them out here, I will use the time I would spend on a normal post thinking about these stories, ruminating on them. Hoping for a spark. We'll see what happens. That's the thing about saying something out loud. You never know where it will lead.

I know that my fiction will not be every one's cup of tea, and I will not be hurt if you decide to skip over those posts. I know you each have your own reasons for stopping by here, whether to check in on Audrey or just see what's been cooking on our stove. My plan is to do fiction posts on Thursdays, with the first post being this Thursday. I think I will post that last story from 2004 while I use this week to collect my story starts and figure out a plan. In the meantime, thank you for being a part of this little space, for your encouragement, and for bringing a bit of your own stories here. The train ride is always better with other interesting passengers on board.