Moving forward


I have a journal called "one line a day" that I write in every night before bed. (Or every three nights when I forget and fill in the missing days). I have a lot of thoughts in this book, things like:
  • "Do I keep a separate one for my next child?" 
  • "Do I not keep one at all for my next child? Is that fair?" 
  • "If I were to keep two - wouldn't I largely be writing the same thing two times each night?" 
  • "Will Natalie even care to read this one day?" 
  • "When do I give it to her? 16? Her wedding day? When she has her first kid?" 
  • "Is this more for me than for her?" 
  • "If I give it to her- then what do I have to look back on as memories for me? These are things I will be able to recall- not her..."

Yes, these are the things that go through my mind at night...

If I won't have the book to look back on myself, I can at least have this blog. It's just so easy to look back in the archives, pull up a date, and see what was going on at the time. I already regret the months I haven't documented. I sometimes wonder why it's so typical to document everything for the first year when I feel like it's the second year where the real fun things begin- new words each week, new understandings. As my mother-in-law says "It's like a light bulb went on for her in the last 3 weeks." Literally every day she is surprising me with something new: trying to help me vacuum, pouring tea from her toy tea set, responding "no" to me when I ask her something, playing with her toys by herself for longer than ever! Our move took a lot out of me, and it still is. There is still much to do. But this is, for so many reasons, one of the happiest times of my life, and I want to remember it, and I want to continue to document as much as I can from it. If there is anything I learned from the move, going through old notebooks and pictures- nostalgia is a beautiful thing.

do not have time to carefully construct a a post with fully edited photos and long-winded narratives and reflections. But what I do want to do is share one photo a day with a few lines about that day. What we did, what new thing she does, or a thought I'm having. This is basically Instagram- take a picture and slap a few hashtags to it, and that's what I've largely resorted to these past few weeks. But at least here, if I want to add a little bit more than the typical 140 characters, should I feel so inclined, I can. 

Wednesday 4/12/15: went grocery shopping with you. You said "hi!" to every single person we passed, and had that entire store giggling over how cute you are. 

Thursday 4/13/15: you do tricks for treats- like a dog. Daddy had you stomp your feet and then sit down- and then you got a cookie. Now when you see a cookie, you automatically sit!

These are posts I can easily compose on my phone in just a few minutes, from the comfort of my chair while I'm nursing (still going strong- 3 times a day!) and it's not going to stress me out or take up too much time.

So that's my goal starting next week! And hopefully, I can start catching back up on my favorite blogs as well! 

As always- thanks for sticking with me :) 

Comments

  1. I'm glad we will be seeing more of your posts soon hopefully! I'm glad I've had Instagram to still see how Natalie is growing but will be cool to not be limited by characters anymore :)

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  2. I hate moving, and I imagine that with a young child, it's even more stressful. Good luck as you continue to get settled! I'm looking forward to reading your updates.

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    1. thanks Heather! Yea with a baby it was wayyy harder than I was prepared for. Natalie did great through it all though, and I think it actually helped her grow up a little bit though because she had to learn to entertain herself.

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  3. A picture is worth a thousand words so a picture post blog will be well received, I believe. Think about LOOK Magazine-Way ahead of its time. We are visual learners, most of us, so using pictures to document your life will be perfect.

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  4. Hope you are doing well. We moved when Olivia was 4 days old but at least then she just slept so it was easier. I can't imagine now with her running around. Hope you are settling in nicely.

    I meant to tell you that I bought that "Mom's one line a day" book when you posted it a while ago (when Natalie was born.) I filled it out for the whole first year with Olivia and when we hit her first birthday, I was torn also if I should keep going or save it for my next child and start on a new year. I ended up stopping and we'll see when number 2 comes (not any time soon haha) if I just keep using that same book. I sometimes look back at the day a year ago and see what we were doing and love it. It is crazy though how much more they are chaning day to day now than when they were newborns. Anyhow, thanks for introdcuing that book becuase I am so happy I have these little tidbits to look back on now :)

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    1. Hey Kara! So glad you bought the book too- and that's a good idea to hold off and do it again for your second. Will you be having 5 kids to round out the 5 year book??!! ;) ;) jk

      I like to look back on the previous year too- that's why i'm trying to truck along and keep up with it- even though half the time i'm filling in a few days at a time cause I didnt do it for a few days!

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