Long Time Coming…Bringing my Blog Back to Life!
Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash and design by Jodie Parris. Title inspired with lyrics from “Miss Americana” by Taylor Swift.
Hello my loyal readers!
It’s been almost 2.5 years since my last post, and a lot of things in life have changed to say the least. The biggest thing was getting married to my best friend! We had an amazing wedding day, and I truly can’t believe it’s been almost two years already. Time sure does fly!
After our wedding, we had some of the biggest life changes.
One of the first big changes was my husband and I started new jobs, working from home full time. Changing our jobs was something we talked about while we were engaged and planning the wedding. During the stay at home order in 2020, we got a pretty good idea of what working from home would be like, and both enjoyed it. Being in a rural area we knew for us to have a wider reach for future employment we would need to consider more work from home jobs, and post wedding we felt we could focus on that.
Shortly after I started my new job, my husband and I start talking about diving into the house searching process. It’s something we had been discussing for years, and we were close to saving up a downpayment to go towards that purchase. In January of 2023 we started working with a realtor and looking at homes in our area, and by the 9th house we finally found the one we would call our home. We were moved into it by our one year wedding anniversary in June.
My husband always joked how our house should come with a dog within the first month. Though we didn’t purposely follow this timeline, it’s funny that’s exactly what we did.
One month after moving, we got a dog who has been the best addition to our family and the “child” we have always talked about. Every human and animal is his best friend, and he gives the biggest smiles and butt wiggles to everyone who crosses his path.
Say hello to “Benson Parris.”
Life has been busy during my time away, but my heart has always been longing to get back to this blog of mine.
If you’re still here after all this time I first want to say “Thank You.” I announced on instagram at the time of my pause, but I am sure you are wondering why I left, why I am coming back, and what is to be expected going forward.
Lets dive in shall we.
Why I Paused Blogging:
After my last post I was walking with one of my best friends, and told her “I had never felt more stressed than I did in that season of life.”
A lot was going on.
There were the demands of my day job, family hardships, content creation for the blog, and planning the wedding. I simply couldn’t do it all and take care of myself in the meantime.
It was such a hard decision to give up blogging, especially because I was in such a rhythm and habit with it. However, I knew I needed to lighten up my plate where I could because blogging felt more like a burden then a gift at that time in life. It was becoming more of a “have to” than a “want to.”
With being the type of person and blogger who is always advocating for self-care, I knew I needed to take my own advice and take care of myself.
Why I’m coming back:
Deciding to bring this blog back isn’t a decision I have taken lightly.
Throughout the past 2.5 years I’ve gone back and forth multiple times on it, but one day it hit me that the one thing holding me back from it was fear.
Fear of having to step back from it again because life is busy.
Fear of failing with not meeting the deadlines I set for myself.
Fear of just not being good at this whole blogging thing.
Even though I have had this space for 7 years now, I am still very early in finding my voice and ability as a blogger.
Anytime I have brought my blog up with my husband he kept saying and reminding me that I have to know my “why” for blogging, and have realistic expectations with it. This stuck with me, and is what I’ve been thinking about during my time away.
Anytime I considered not bringing the blog back the thought that kept creeping in is “I have a story to share, and maybe that story can help someone like me.”
It was like a bug bite that wouldn’t stop itching.
I kept putting it off for it to the be the “right time,” but like with most things there is never a right time. It all falls back to what you are prioritizing in your life, and a book I read at the start of the year reminded me of that. It reminded me of the role that this blog plays in my life, which is something I had never considered before.
I want to share my story, and contribute to peoples lives who stumble upon my blog. To inspire and help them know they are not alone in this journey of life.
This blog is a personal blog for me yes, but it is also a way to give back and help others walking similar journeys as my own.
What to expect going forward:
The big question that I have feared the most; What and how much will I be posting and producing content for you all?
Going back to what my husband said, I know I need to set realistic expectations for myself with jumping back into this. Writing a post a week is just not sustainable for me with all the other things and projects I am working on in life.
However, I know I am more than capable to produce at least one post a month for my readers.
As I get back into blogging, I hope I can increase my frequency, but for now I know a post a month is a realistic goal for me.
In terms of what I will be posting, I still plan to post about the happenings in my personal life, discuss topics around the various areas of health, and get real in reflecting on lessons learned throughout my life journey.
As always I am open to hearing about what you want to read about, so don’t hesitate to reach out to me on Facebook, Instagram, or send me an email.
Your friend,
