Journey of Doing – Past, Present, and Future

Oh, journey of doing.  This post has been a long time coming in a lot of ways.  Part of me wanted to do in conjunction with a post about shedding the scars of summer, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt it deserved its own post.

When I Started Journey of Doing

I started this blog in mid-2011 when I was still a petroleum engineer.  (Wow, that feels like a lifetime ago.)  My husband (then boyfriend) was in the process of starting his own firm and managing other aspects of his business.  We were busy, to say the least.  (I think we went three years without a vacation.)  We worked 7 days a week.  I was burnt out.  I wanted something that would remind me to do things.  Whether that was being, creating, or doing, I needed to do more than work.  Thus, my journey of doing was born.

I quit my job in late-2011 after a startling day with a high school senior.  In between helping her finish college applications and finding my new purpose, I tried to do more things.  Baking, crafting, photographing.  Some were chronicled on the blog.  Others are still sitting on my hard drive to be edited.  (I’ve never been a consistent blogger in the way that I wanted to be.)  Nevertheless, I’ve always been happy to have this little space to chronicle my journey of doing.  It’s always here.  I can come and go, but it stays.

In 2012, I started to put my heart and soul into changing the narrative around public education.  I told some of those stories on this blog.  Some I kept to myself.  I shared some of them via email with blog-friends I’ve met along the way.  And, still, I tried to remember to take time to do things I loved.  (I haven’t done well at that for the past few years.)

Married Life & Journey of Doing

I got engaged in March 2013, planned for a year long engagement (with all the DIY posts!), and moved up my wedding day when my brother-in-law thought he would be deployed.  We got married six months later (and it was perfect).  That summer, our non-profit took off and I haven’t looked back at all.  I’ve spent the last four years pouring myself into it.  It’s been hard, stressful, and sometimes impossible, but it makes me happy to know that my life has meaning.  We bought our first house in 2014, began renovating it in 2015, and that stretched into 2016.  I did a decent job chronicling that adventure.  Heh.  We’ve been slowly settling into life in our house, taking a little time to travel, and trying to take care of each other through some really tough stuff.

Looking Forward on the Blog

In some ways, I spent this summer trying to find myself again.  I kept telling myself that it would get better if I put one foot in front of the other and pushed forward.  Looking back, it seems a little silly.  Thankfully, my husband is patient with me.  He indulges me but gives me tough love when I need it.  Also, he loves me when I don’t love myself.  That’s what I needed.  Tough love, unconditional love, and milkshakes.

Tom took me to Venice and Prague for our anniversary.  (I can’t wait to share more about both trips!)  This trip had been almost perfect until I started crying over something stupid.  As hard as it was, it was the realization that I needed to stop stressing myself out.  Yes, there’s a lot of stress, but I need to better control my respond to it.  On our last night in Venice, we decided to grab a photo session with Ksenia.  While I don’t love how I look (did I mention the summer milkshakes?!), I do love these photos.  They remind me of just being.  Being happy.  With my husband.  Somewhere I love.  Not every moment is going to be perfect, but I’m in control of my life.  I need to remember to do life – not just exist through it.

It’s time to snap out of the summer slump.  Fall is here.  October is a new month.  I’ve closed the book on Summer Sara.  It’s time to move forward.

Journey of Doing – What’s on deck for the blog?

I’m going to continue to repurpose old content that I never shared.  You’ll see some new #ThrowbackThursday posts from the early days of the blog.  I’m going to edit and share the photos from adventures over the past few years.  If you follow me on instagram, you’ll know that I’ve been sharing all kinds of pictures of sequence.  It’s my instagram and I do what I want!  I’m going to do some posts on some of my favorite things that I think you’ll love too.  I’ll probably rant about things affecting public education.  Whatever it is – I’m going to be me.  But I’m going to try and find balance in my life.  I hope you’ll try and find some in yours, too.  (We could all use that reminder, I think.)

In conclusion, I’m going to do things.

Just like the blog said way back when.  It’s my journey of doing.