“Val, have you abandoned your blog?”

Blogging requires a significant time investment. When I am in the midst of creating a blog post, I am ALL in. I immerse myself into it and talk about it constantly to close friends and family. Surely it must drive them crazy. When I don’t have adequate amount of time to invest in giving my concentration, energy and focus to writing, I don’t. That is unfortunate though, because I love blogging. Here are the 5 reasons I have NOT been blogging (and a sneak peek at upcoming content):

1 – Holiday Season 

My Blogging hiatus began with the holiday season. The last post I wrote, Deciding To Add A Puppy To The Family, was in November, just before Thanksgiving.

Having a big family means time and energy being consumed with lots of gathering, traditions, and, my personal favorite, kids home from college.

Putting blogging on the back burner for family time is easy. Family gatherings are my favorite thing in the world.

2 – Puppy 

Speaking of the decision to get a puppy… the decision and planning that was a year in the making… can I just say YIKES!! This transition to puppy world is reason #2 that I haven’t been blogging.

Yes, I have had puppies before. Yes, I know how hard it is to have a puppy. I had mentally prepared myself for that. I had even prepared Jess for that by telling her for a whole year that a puppy would drive me crazy, but that we would work through the difficult times. 

Well, apparently, a year was not long enough to prepare for THIS puppy transition. She consumed my nights and days (along with plastic, metal, wood, screws, dust bunnies, hair, Abby, dirt, cat poop, rotten tomatoes in the garden, shrubs, etc.,) for 6 weeks. 

More puppy story later, but during those 6 weeks of me almost losing my mind, finding time for blogging was at the bottom of my list of things to do.

3 – Hannah

Reason #3 I haven’t been blogging and another thing that we have been planning for the last year is Hannah’s move to college – our biggest transition yet.

Hannah graduated this December with an associate degree from Dalton State University. She will continue her education in Valdosta, GA, majoring in American Sign Language / English Interpreting.

While we were balancing holidays and puppy craziness, it was also time to pack her up and haul her off to school.

Moving day was 4 days after Christmas.  More on this story later…

4 – Remodel

Reason #4 I haven’t been blogging. Our house transition. It has been one year and three months since I started remodeling the interior of my house. Since I am working on a very tight budget, Hannah and I have done a lot of the work ourselves, my dad and other family members have helped a lot, and I’ve hired some help. Progress has been one room at a time as schedule allows and the transformation has been wonderful. 

Problematic – having things topsy-turvy for so long is another thing that has been making me nuts. It made sense to put a hold on the project until after Hannah’s move to keep from having to move furniture multiple extra times. So, since her move I have been focusing on getting the last three rooms upstairs finished (instead of blogging.)

The remodel must get completed so I can find what little peace of mind that I had.  More later on the remodel.

5 – Income

Last but certainly not least, the 5th reason I have not been blogging is that I must have an income. Imagine that. Between taking care of Jessica, holidays, puppy, moving, and remodeling, I must find time to work.

Working pays the bills. As much as I would like for it to, my blog does not pay the bills. (My website is, in fact, another bill to pay.)

SO, HAVE I ABANDONED BLOGGING?

• Holidays – over
• Puppy – no longer a problem
• Hannah – moved

That leaves me with:

• Remodel – which I am working diligently to resolve.
• Work – which will always come before blogging.

I have not abandoned my blog!

Jess and I are working on settling into this new phase of our life. As things become more organized, I will find that balance that I had for a while. With such major changes happening, there will be plenty to blog about in this new year. Hannah moving away is a transition that continues to be a major adjustment for Jess.

In December, a close friend asked me (in a kind and understanding voice) “Val, have you just abandoned your blog?” I asked if she had looked at the blog lately because there are new pictures on there all the time. Her response was that she hadn’t been on Facebook recently. I have had other people also think my blog is ON facebook.

I simply reminded my friend (for the umpteenth time):

• My blog is not on Facebook
• MY BLOG IS A WEBSITE
• Blog posts get shared on Facebook, twitter, google+, pinterest, etc.

If you don’t like getting on Facebook but are interested in following my blog, here are some options:

• SUBSCRIBE to get notifications of new posts.
• Bookmark my website – All three of these url’s lead to my blog:
  • thetransitionaltruth.com
  • autismafterschool.com
  • autisticinterpretations.com
• Save my website to your reading list
• Put a link on your desktop

I sincerely thank each of you for your interest in my blog and for sharing my blog posts, I do appreciate it very much!

SHORTLINK: http://wp.me/p5DUsf-1ia