Day #365 – Thank YOU

Well…it’s here.

Tucker is finishing out the blog tomorrow, so today is my last ‘scheduled’ day to write.

My last post after…

901 pages (Word Document)
270,869 words

I’ve been called windy before – but that’s a new record for me.

I’m kidding.  This isn’t my last post – I’m going to keep writing.  I ‘heard’ all of you and your plea.  I still have 12 pages of notes and that doesn’t include the day to day, spirit-induced topics.  I’m going to take a week off – unless, of course, something major happens.  After that I’ll probably write 1-2 times per week.

Today?  I thank all of you.  All of you who read or have read this blog at any point in the past year.  Seriously, I cannot thank you enough for being part of our family.  Your love, support, and compassion for us has, at times, been overwhelming.  I have been brought to tears AND laughter by your comments and private messages.  I have made new, quite incredible friends – for that, I will be forever grateful.

It has been an honor and privilege to share our story, Tucker’s story.  I remember the first day I had 100 readers – I told my husband that we needed to celebrate.  His response?  “Babe, this is just the beginning…you have a great story to tell and a great ability to tell that story.”  It seems he was right…again.

I remember the day I had 10 followers.  I remember saying to him – “Why do these 10 people want to read this story?  That’s nuts.”

Every single time I get a notification that another person is following, I sort of squint and wonder.  Thank you for the boost in my self-esteem.

Thank you for following on Twitter or Facebook or (new to me) Pinterest.  I tried to stay off Pinterest – because I knew my life would get sucked into projects (more than I already am) but found this a great outlet to organize posts and share ideas.

I have cried through posts.
I have laughed through posts.
I have nodded my head through posts.
I have had intense frustration through posts.
I have cried and laughed, nodded my head and had intense frustrations through posts.

I hope you have too.

I have stared at blank screens with a blinking cursor, cursing (well…not really-but it was a good play on words) this insane idea of mine.  I have had the words come out so easily that I have written 1,200 words in 15 minutes.  I have been so excited to post that I forgot to spell, grammar, and think-check my writing.  I have been so worried about not offending others that I came back to a post and refined 15 times in a single day.

I have written in parking lots, lying in bed, sitting at our table, computer on my belly lying on the floor, on my front porch, sitting at our patio set while sipping a cool summer drink, and sprawled out on a couch.   I have written at half-times and forced my family to pause a movie because I have a ‘stroke of genius.’   I have written at my parent’s house and my in-law’s home.

I have written while lacking motivation and sleep.  I have left parties early to write and risen before the sun to write.  I have flopped face down in my bed because I was stuck.

I once had the opportunity to meet Robert James Waller (author of The Bridges of Madison County) – not only meet him, but actually sit and talk with him. He told me there is really no such thing as writer’s block.  If I was having troubles writing and telling a story then I did it to myself – I backed myself into a corner.  I went to a ‘place’ that I wasn’t intending to go.  There were moments that I repeated this to myself…therefore, I have deleted full posts and have 23 abandoned, half-written posts.

While I have done all of this – I have never lacked for story.   A story that is so important to tell.  A story, which hopefully…

brought hope
brought understanding
brought compassion
brought knowledge
brought laughter
brought heartache
brought empathy.

Thank you for being audience to our story and for being a part of my unforgettable life-long story.

Now – who knows a publisher that wants this content? 😉