It has been over eight years since I last posted on this blog. Obviously many things have changed since then. Most notably: my second son, Zain, was born in 2015; I was in a horrible car accident in August 2019; the world was swallowed up in a pandemic in early 2020 (from which it still has yet to recover completely); and my husband, Geoff, had his job of 30 years a photographer for the local newspaper eliminated with no warning in December 2020.
Somehow life and learning and art go on. I and my family continue to adapt to and evolve with our changing circumstances. I'm optimistic and would say that in some ways we are even figuring out how to move beyond survival into the realm of thriving (at least a little bit).
For a while it felt like we kept getting hit while we were down. But now it finally feels like we're getting back on our feet. I'm recovering from my ninth surgery after the car accident. Geoff, Iain, and I have all had our Covid-19 vaccinations, and Zain will have his when it is finally approved for kids in his age groups this fall. Geoff has a part-time job that he really enjoys. He's working at the same public library as I do but in a different department.
But like I said, we've had to adapt and evolve...a lot. I don't feel like I'm the same person who started this blog all those years ago. And yet, I am still her in some deep, fundamental ways. I still crave creative outlets as an escape from the monotony of life. But I feel like I've gained a fair amount of wisdom from experience over the years. I can't look at things the same way as I did back then. That would be reckless and arrogant.
So here is to the future--to changes and progress. Here is to adapting and evolving. And most of all, here is to thriving.
