I’m approaching my fourth blogoversary with work in progress… in a few weeks time. And for a blog that I started on a whim, with no real thought as to where it would go or what I would write about, or even if it would last more than a few posts, I think that’s a pretty great milestone. But, for at least the last year, I’ve been realizing that the blog is not doing for me what it once did.

I know, in part, it’s my own fault. For various reasons, I’ve been censoring myself much more in the last few years. I know when it started – when I was in the process of starting the old job at the place that shall not be named. I had to go through a huge security process and at one point they called me in to discuss the blog, specifically some things I’d written about – public events and political figures – that worried them. And while I said to myself I wouldn’t let that stop me expressing my opinions, in many ways it did. And for reasons I understand, but won’t share, it’s continued, even though I’ve moved on to a new job and new environment. And where the blog has gone, is not a place I want to keep going…

There’s been a lot of great things about blogging – I’ve ‘met’ some wonderful people, read some amazing stories, had some powerful conversations. The blog has helped me put into words so much that I’ve been trying to figure out. Through it, and the connections it’s helped me make, I’ve come much closer to being a finished work of art, rather than a work in progress. I know there’s still many steps on my journey, but, for now, for this part of the journey, I think I’m done.

More and more lately, I’ve been feeling the need to unplug, back away from the internet for a while, to engage more with ‘real’ life. Mike and I have been making more of an effort to create the life that we both want for ourselves which includes more activity and engagement and less mindless entertainment and escapism. We’ve cancelled our cable package. We’re looking at houses downtown where we can park the car and walk most places. We’re taking active steps towards building a life that will make us happy long term, which is wonderful. But it also means that I’m reexamining my priorities and I’ve realized the blog, she is not one of them… at least not right now.

I want to thank you, those of you who left comments, and those of you who reached out to me through this medium, and those of you who lurked in the shadows. Thank you to those of you who I read, and will continue to read, whose stories and words have touched me in some way. Thank you for being a part of this road of my journey.

I leave you now with one of my new favourite finds on the internet. Enjoy…

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