Writing, writing, writing

When I was dreaming about taking a 5 week vacation to explore National Parks in the west, I imagined a trip full of time for reading, contemplating big life issues, and writing- lots and lots of productive writing. I thought I would chronicle my journey, keeping my blog up to date with our latest adventures every couple of days.

Well, it didn't exactly happen like that. I did not finish reading one of the 5 books I took with me on the trip, and I didn't do much in the way of contemplating either. I was too busy exploring. And while I was faithfully able to keep up with blog the first couple of weeks, as the journey went on, I got further and further behind.

Electricity can be hard to come by when you are living in a tent, and WIFI is sometimes a few days away. Besides, I was enjoying all the new sights and places, and I didn't want to leave that in search of a place to plug in. Just the very act of trying to figure out where we going next took up quite a bit of time as well. The basics like food and shelter won out over the blog, but I do have an assortment of scribbled notes, along with a bazillion photos, stubs of paper, and miscellaneous memorabilia that is waiting to be sorted and organized. Eventually, I have faith that at least some of it will get fashioned into something that will get posted or used somehow .

In the mean time, I am relishing one of the many life lessons that I took away from my time traveling- that is that there is a whole lot out in the world to enjoy. I cannot possibly see or do it all, but I want to see and do what I can at a pace that feeds my soul rather than sucking the life out of it. I really don't want to waste my time stressing out about trying to cram everything in, but spend it appreciating what I can.

Along those lines, rather than stressing about being behind on my blog, I am appreciating the recent successes I've had with my writing. I was on the road when my latest articles went to print, but they made it nonetheless.

As a writer for parenting magazines, I am blessed to get to research and learn about things that interest me, and get to interview a lot of inspirational people as well.

Here's a link to an article on baby wearing which I recently had the pleasure of writing for NorthState Parent Magazine. I love all those adorable babies, and am inspired by the dedicated mamas who pack them about. I also was asked to write about a wonderful couple who works with special needs kids, linked here. It's a great thing to see how many good people there are in the world doing terrific things for our future.

Finally, I have a  piece on CreekSchooling that is in the May / June issue of Home Education magazine. It's a piece I wrote quite a while back, but re-reading it reminds me of what a wonderful lifestyle we have found. Even better, it's in a magazine full of articles that support that lifestyle, by writers who can understand it.

I think I'll get off the computer, and enjoy that lifestyle with my family right now.