Friday, January 29, 2016

So, Here We Are....



18 months ago I walked out on my blog. I didn’t know, back then, that it was my last post, but in retrospect I suppose it had been the natural course after a year of an off again-on again relationship. But for some reason, a year and half later, here I am, standing at its front door with a bouquet of flowers. Don’t get me wrong – this isn’t Katie picking up the proverbial plume (is that a thing?) again.  

While there is still ‘a’ writer floating around in Katieland, I no longer identify myself as ‘a writer’. Which is why I think I took a step (okay, a very large leap) back from that world. Because my days were no longer filled with word counts, and chapters, characters, or pacing, query letters and agents. And while I remain in tune to some of the news through authorly and bloggerly friends on facebook, I haven’t used my writer account in ages because I feel so out of touch with a writer’s day to day. 

Nope. Since the birth of our baby boy in May 2015, my days have been spent firmly (although sometimes painfully) grounded in the real world. Our little guy had a hard time of it those first few months. He was born with an undetected heart defect that needed open-heart surgery a few days before his three-month birthday. He made it through with flying colors, though, and has been growing strong and healthy ever since. 

Our oldest daughter, Lily, began the sixth grade at an international middle school 20 minutes from here, so this year has consisted of LOTS of taxi-ing her and her two younger sisters around to and from their respective schools, cleaning, cooking, shopping, and caring for two babies (two and under) AND studying to pass my teaching certification exams in March since I finally FINALLY obtained French citizenship and can be employed as a state employee (ie public school teacher) full time. 

So, here we are. Even now, as I read through this short post, I can feel the passion remains unstirred. I hope someday that part of me will get her time in the sun again. Until then, I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m still here, I’m okay, and I think of you often and wish all of my old blogger buddies the very best in everything!

This is Creepy, signing off...again. :)

-CQC





14 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Hey Katie! Good to hear from you.
With four kids, their lives will take precedence over all else. The writing will wait for you.
Glad your little boy was all right after the surgery.
I'm not on Facebook, so appreciate you posting here.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Aw, my beautiful friend. You are terribly missed here, but I'm glad we've been able to remain in each other's lives through other forms of social media. My door is always open to you.��

Cherie Reich said...

Thanks for the update! I'm glad to hear you are okay, and with everything going on, it's no wonder you've been silent on the blog and such for so long. Take care!

A Literary Anthology said...

Katie,

Great to hear from you. Hope that FT teaching spot you mentioned comes to fruition (or already has).
Sorry your family had all that underlying stress with your little baby boy.

Take care!
Royce in Norway (originally from California)

DL Hammons said...

Hey Katie!! I totally understand how priorities can shift and what that can do to a person's online presence. I actually went the other way with the same result. I've emersed myself in my writing and that has left little time for blogging. My blog still has a pulse, but it's nowhere near what it used to be. But it's really great seeing you back online, even if it's sporadic.

Take care! :)

Courtney Barr - The Southern Princess said...

Hey Katie! So glad to hear you are doing well. I in many ways have done what you have done, I stepped back from blogging - well I stepped back from "writerly" blogging. When we decided to begin the adoption process I found my posts to slowly begin to be updates on adoption, a place to express my emotional state and a home for family updates. I still stand on the doorstep of my writerly self, hand raised, poised to knock and praying not to ever lose my nerve once it swings back open. I miss the word counts and chapter studies but I also know that the hours I now commit to artistic endeavors such as sketching, painting and print working all to raise funds for our future children will be worth the minutes ticking by on that metaphorical doormat. So welcome back, no matter how sporadic or different the subject matter may be we all are happy to see you here!

Caroline Starr Rose said...

Hello there! What a treat to stumble on this today. Day by day. Moment by moment. All the best to you and your family.

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

It was nice to see you in my Feedly stream. Been a while. I'm so glad your son did well. Best wishes to you and the family.

D.G. Hudson said...

It's good to know you're taking care of that family of yours and getting your creds as well. Good luck with whatever you have to do! You're very lucky to live in France, with all of Europe within your reach. I'm not on Facebook either, so I thank you for letting us know here on your blog. Take care of yourself too!

Natalie Aguirre said...

Glad to hear you're okay. We all go through life changes that affect our blogging and writing. I still like my blog but haven't been able to write since my husband died almost two years ago. You'll have to see how your life and desires go in terms of your writing. Either way is okay.

Rachel said...

Kate, I was so glad to see your face pop up in my blog feed today. I have been thinking of you for a long time and hoping you are well, so glad to hear you are. I'm so happy to hear your baby made it through surgery and that school is going well and yay for citizenship. I'm in graduate school now, studying library science and my writing has fallen to the wayside. But thats okay. It will always exist in my head, I will always keep playing. Hope the year continues to be well for you and yours. xo

Connie Keller said...

Glad to hear that you're doing well and especially that your son is healthy after his surgery!

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

I am happy to hear that you and your family are doing well. Family always comes first and when the time is right, you will return to your writing or not. Life moves on and new opportunities arise that fulfill us.

mshatch said...

It was nice to see you pop on my blog roll again :)

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