My second act

I am so excited to be blogging for MichMoms, but to be honest, if someone had asked me three years ago what a blog was, I couldn’t tell you.  Becoming a blogger was not on my life to-do list (partly because when I was originally formulating my life plan, blogs didn’t exist).  I’ve always loved reading and writing so for me, that logically meant I was destined to become an English teacher.

Once I achieved my goal of becoming a junior high English teacher, I was shocked at how unhappy I felt.  And by unhappy, I mean miserable.  Of course, I didn’t realize it at that time.  I just thought everyone had a huge amount of anxiety at work and curled up in the fetal position on Fridays, recovering from the difficult week.

So when my life-long dream of becoming a teacher didn’t “work out,” I pretty much felt like I failed.

I became a stay-at-home mom when my first child, Marie, was born.  I had always envisioned becoming a stay-at-home mom, but it was a difficult adjustment (as most life-altering changes are). Marie’s physical developmental delays added an extra dose of stress into the mix as well.  Thomas was born three years later, and he suffered from chronic ear infections.

Their babyhoods were just a bit intense.

Both babes are totally fine now, but in order to stay focused on their health, I shelved pretty much any emotion I had.  So once they were OK, I was a mess.  But I worked pretty hard to get that all under control with the help of a very talented therapist.  During one session, she said something that changed the course of my life: “Why don’t you start blogging?”

A blog?  What’s that?  I didn’t know anything about blogging.  But after some researching, it sounded like a good idea.

I set up my blog (a feat in and of itself for this former technically impaired person), and I just began to write.  And write and write and write.

Then something magical happened.  I felt a part of me flourish, a part I forgot existed.  I felt excited when I wrote my posts.  When I clicked on the “publish” button, I felt such a rush!  And when I read my first comment, I was overjoyed.

I became so excited with blogging, I decided to go to a blogging conference called BlogHer10.  At this conference, I was surrounded by people who knew all about blogging.  I also saw that there were many avenues blogging could take me.  And that?  That was truly inspirational.

Blogging has changed my life.  I am feeling a sense of community as I meet new people I am proud to call my friends.

There is nothing like that feeling that I am doing what is right for me (as opposed to feeling sick to my soul).

I thought, at 31 years old, that my life had already been lived out.  But this second act, this reinvention is just the beginning of a new era.  My  journey took an unexpected turn, and I am so grateful.  It’s exciting to have a place to write.

I feel alive.

I used to be a cynic when people would say that if you love what you do, good things happen.  I think I didn’t understand that because I hadn’t found what I truly love to do.

Now that I’ve found writing and blogging, I can’t help but not believe that.

So now that I have shared a bit about myself, how about you? What inspires you? What makes you feel alive?