Welcome Back

Hi, again. It’s very odd to write a blog post after taking a surprise two year hiatus. Life got very busy at that time. To give a cliffnotes summary, I returned to Olympia after the summer away (and have spent a handful of summers here since then). I began a beautiful blooming relationship with my partner Felix. I began my work with Olympia Books to Prisoners, which could (and probably will) be an entire blog post of itself. I underwent the most stressful move that to be honest I may still be recovering from. I expanded my small business with the help of Felix, renamed it Trillium Creations, and began vending at many, many local art markets throughout the years. I graduated college! I left my job at the most wonderful preschool to pursue “bigger and better things” but I have a feeling in my heart I will return. I worked for the Conservation Corps this past summer and had the time of my life doing manual labor in the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I began a new job as a para-educator for an elementary school, and have been working there since. 

I can understand if all of that was a lot to take in– and that’s just the highlights! I remember my dad telling me that his twenties were some of the busiest and most formative years of his life, and that is ringing true now. Although, I suppose if I wrote this blog at 5 I would claim that my early childhood had been my most significant years. And maybe I would be correct. To all those who have stuck with me during these beautiful and dramatic times, you are golden. 

My inspiration to restart this blog has ignited from a variety of sparks. One being my family’s almost monthly inquiry “When are you going to write another post?” To that I have to admit, I have begun to write many, but was unable to finish for a million reasons, all of which seemed like great excuses at the time. Maybe it’s the new year approaching, but I am hopeful that this attempt will be successful- and if you’re reading this, it means it was. 

My biggest push however, was Christmas Eve. We were at my Grandparents house in Arizona, going through boxes of old things my Grandma was clearing out. One of the items was a blue folder, and inside were printed out copies of a blog my mom wrote when I was in the throes of MG and Graves disease as a toddler. I had always heard of the blog, but had never seen the writing before. Two years worth of beautifully personal writing by my mom, about me, printed out and cataloged by my Grandma. It was truly amazing. I poured over the papers that night, sharing the best parts out loud. My mom’s writing was so honest and heartbreaking and hilarious. As a child that young, I did not fully grasp what it meant to have such a condition, let alone the impact it had on my family. Even now, I still feel disconnected from that time, despite having a handful of chronic health troubles that likely stem from my past diagnoses and treatments. Reading my moms recounting of myself as a four year old was so magical. A similar magic I feel when I read old diary entrees, or previous posts on this blog. 

Who am I to deny future Lilah that magic? 

I realize that one of the major factors holding me back from restarting this blog was how much I would have to fill in for the years I was MIA. But my blog is not for strangers on the internet, it’s for people who know me. Hence the first paragraph of this post. A cliffnotes version of the last 2+ years. It doesn’t have to include everything. If I want to write about any of the aforementioned events in depth, I will. But I don’t have to.

As the new year approaches and arrives, expect more posts! They might not be long. They might be very long. But they will be here, and that’s what matters.

Thank you for reading, and welcome back!