Sept. 1: Getting back in the saddle

It's a thing amongst bloggers, to take a break from blogging over the summer, for a month or a few weeks. While I haven't done that, exactly, I have been rather sparse around these parts, other than my gratitude moments. Between work and then the lack of energy re: sickness, it's been quite the summer.

So, how to rejuvenate? Where to begin again, dive back into the blogging deep? A blog I follow, communicatrix, recently got back into it by kicking off a "good enough" run of 21 posts. It's true, once one is out of the rhythm, it can feel like you really have to write something pretty special to get back into the groove. This phrase in Colleen's kick-off post really spoke to me: And I wonder why I wander away from writing.

Because it's true. Whether I'm posting a recipe, or something that inspires me, it really all comes down to putting "pen" to "paper" and getting the thoughts out. There are times when my creative well runs dry, so to speak, but more often than not I simply allow other things to crowd out the writing, the creating. And miss it, as time goes by and the page stays blank.

So, where to start?

Well, I went looking for an inspiring blogging challenge out there in the interwebs. There are certainly a lot of them (I'm not alone! Others have this predicament!). But none spoke to me in entirety, so I am left to create my own. Not unlike the blogging challenge I took part in last spring, I am going to set out to write daily in the month of September.

Here we go.

Today we were blessed to catch up with folks who moved from the area eight years ago. Young Sam (on the left above, first picture) was a dear friend of Seth's (and Andrew's, on the right) in first and second grade, and moved the fall of their third grade year. His dad is in the military, and they first went to Hawaii (where we visited them in the spring of '07), then Virginia, followed by Germany. They just moved back to Washington state, to the Fort Lewis area over on the east side, and were in Walla Walla checking in on the home they still have here, as a rental.

Seth and Sam gave Andrew a call and together they wandered and chatted away an hour of the afternoon, catching up. It reminded me of my own childhood, and friendships that ebbed and flowed, and the value of long-time friends. People who knew you "when."

Sam told Seth and I that he is really glad to have moved a few times in his childhood, but is happy to be back in Washington state. He also said he thought never having moved would be boring. Seth, on the other hand, loves having been in the same school district his whole school life. Goes to show that what you know, what your experience is, is just that. Yours. And making your peace with it--moving or not moving--is a part of being a kid. Both boys could probably be content having been in the others' shoes, they just aren't aware of it.

It's remarkable to think of the paths that our lives take because of decisions made around us as children. I spent a good deal of time thinking about that today, as Seth and Sam and Andrew visited. I didn't arrive at any real flashes of brilliance, but I did reflect on my own childhood with gratitude. Proving once again that what you know, you know, and it makes sense to you. ;)

Did you move many times as a child? How did that impact you, and does it still influence how you see the world today? Tell me!