The Begining of My Story

All good stories start at the beginning, and this one isn’t any different. I was born. That’s a pretty magnificent miracle in and of itself. When I consider how amazing it is that I entered my family at that precise time and place, I seriously can’t believe it. Then, the fact that one miracle in my life led to another, and another, and finally to where I am today, really humbles me all the time. The chance to share this blog and the amazing collaborative life I live with my sister and our families is icing on the cake.

I gerw up in an entirely different world than the one I live in now. I was a product of the booming suburbs in the 1970’s and 1980’s. I always heard that we were the “new” generation, the heretics, the ones who were throwing away morality. Now, as I reflect on my youth, I realize that I grew up in a very spiritual time when art and music wrestled with faith, self reflection, and transformation. My parents encouraged me to think independently and creatively in order to seek solutions and to find common ground with our fellow man. I began a life of soul searching, reaching out, calling on our Lord to guide me, and that is how I ended up here.

This blog has been a long time coming. I wrestled with the idea for years, but like so many other things in life, it always came down to not wanting to put myself our there for the judgment of others. I have always felt that I had something to say, but how would it be received by others? I often wondered it I should even be concerned with that.

You see, I straddle two worlds. I work and live in rural America. I am by the very fabric of my being a creature of the city. I simply love urban spaces. the vibe, the motion, the diversity of the cities enchants me. so, here I am caught in the middle of the country aI love, and in the middle of the most important issues of the day. I see both sides of the story. I don’t want to make a political statement, but rather to present my life as it unfolds in the the context of history. That is pretty exciting to me, because I really love history with a passion.

I hope that this will be an evolving story that will hopefully make some sort of a difference in the world that we live in. I also dream that this will be a narrative for my children and for the grandchildren that we will be blessed with someday.

Speaking of children, we have the best number for us. Five gorgeous sons who, so far, have given us three beautiful daughter-in-laws and a couple of the cutest grand-dogs that grandparents could want. We also have three dogs of our own that fill our lives with craziness and fun. We do everything because of this crazy crowd. the best part of having children is that they make you feel uncomfortable and push you out of your comfort zone. Our children have gone above and beyond to make sure this was true. From day ones and followed by the small ones, they make sure were are always growing and learning. The same is apparently true of dogs.

Thank you for joining us on this literary journey. I hope that you will enjoy it as much as we enjoy sharing it with you.

Michelle