xoxoxoxoxo love you, lady!

Thank you Karen! Love you :)

Sarah thank you!!!! And yeah after I finally tell her, I would love to share a bit of this what and why stuff with her - I'm sure she's been doing some manifesting of her own, whether she knows it or not! xoxo

Thank you Nichole!

xoxoxo always Misty.

Nina, thank you my dear. Big hugs...

I love you, Dad. So much. Stronger than before, yes...AND having had the conversations that wouldn't have happened otherwise. So I am grateful for that and for, as you put it, the training. xoxo, A

Nolwenn, #thankyou ;) xoxo

Stacy, thank you, I am so moved by your comment you have no idea. I can't wait to see and hug you soon. And I am SO glad he is home, too! xoxo

Thank you so much for this, Merida! Sending huge love back and can't help wishing it were possible to go grab a drink with you sometime, but I hope LA is treating you well. Thanks for reading, it means a lot... xo

I love you, Riz.

Oooh I love the shivers! xoxo

Sarah, I hear you - we DO still need to get on with our lives in the winter/shadow time, don't we? I find that what works best for me is that when I'm doing the "lazy" stuff (mashed potatoes and wine in front of the fire sounds heavenly!), I don't allow myself to feel guilty about it. If the whole time I'm giving myself that space and comfort, my brain is berating me about what I SHOULD be doing, then what was the point? Whereas if I really sink into the shadow time and lap it up and don't apologize, it works more effectively. And eventually I actually want to go do something out in the world again. Without any bum-kicking. Knowing I can always come back to the dark home comforts. You know?... I can't always manage it but that's what I strive for. Sending you love! xo

Shalagh, YOU had ME at "I'm picking up what you're putting down"!! Love this conversation. Good for you on your Y membership but especially on knowing and valuing what it's *really* for. THAT'S inspiring! Glad to know you're in a new place re. brokenness - what one of us does for herself raises all of us up... xoxo

Roz, what a beautiful comment, I'm so touched and happy to know you're reading the blog. I will definitely look for the book you mention at the library - thanks for the recommendation!

So happy to get your comment! Thank you Lori, and big hugs to you.

Thank you Ruth Ann.. for your words and encouragement and for SEEING me even with screens separating us. Your friend was indeed very wise. The ups and downs can make me crazed but I would never choose plateaus, so... xoxoxo

Thank you, Caroline! So happy you are reading and enjoying this blog... :)

Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Blair! I love that slow blogging has actually made you want to blog more. That makes so much sense - that when we are doing it for us, at our own pace, the inspiration and motivation would flow more easily. Hugs back to you!!

I'd love to continue it in person too! I will suggest to Monica, since she was just asking for topics... I agree, I get twitchy too, and am starting to learn the difference between the heavy feeling of guilt when I don't post (I have to/I should) versus that twitchiness (I want to/I'm all bottled up and need to release!). Seems to me that even though they often come together, the twitchy feeling can be harnessed for good, whereas the guilt is better off comforted and shushed but otherwise not paid much heed.

Britta, thanks for this. I'm going to give the e-book you linked to a try, it looks exactly right for me. What you said about your blog being sacred - YES. What blog-writing has to offer us is so linked to the way we nurture it, right? Whether that's by taking a stand for ourselves through maintaining a posting schedule (keeping our word to ourselves) OR by allowing ourselves the freedom of a non-schedule. I love the idea of sacredness being the orienting question, no matter how varied our individual answers to that question may be...

Yeah, once you get rid of one black hole, another seems to form in its place, right? Such is life I guess. :) Thanks so much for your comment. I really believe that being open and honest in what we're writing is a good thing - even if it's raw, we're putting something out there that can potentially make a difference...

Claudia, thank you! I can't even imagine feeling tied to a current events/news cycle for content - that really does change the whole dynamic. But it sounds like you have a good thing going with the schedule you've made for yourself, that it's consistent but also doable in the context of family life. Funny how we invent these online spaces, get to totally dictate what they will be... and then fall into the trap of worrying what readers/followers will think about how often we post, etc. I love what you're saying here about balance.

Thanks Sheri - that it was a comfort to you is immensely gratifying. You hit on such an important point here, regarding how we define our blogs' success. Sometimes I really think we should all just stop looking at the analytic stats, same as I think maybe we would be better off thinking about how we feel/how our jeans fit instead of the number on the scale... How else can we calibrate success besides the #s? It's an interesting question to think about...

Thank you, Karen! What an amazingly wonderful comment. Made my day. I always love hearing about your Ohio childhood :) And agreed - the being vs doing is definitely something we need to remind ourselves of... It's a practice. Thanks especially for what you said about the girls. I am so glad they will get to share whatever treasures unfold with their loving Grandma May.