In human years, 5 year olds are at a sort of transitional part in their lives. Not really preschoolers and not like the older kids in the middle childhood cohort, they like unicorns and batman and swimming and mommy and daddy's attention.
5 year olds are figuring out life's greatest mysteries. How to tie their shoes. Figuring out what's real and what's imaginary. Figuring out why. (5 year olds are not so great yet at figuring out intent - why somebody said what s/he did.)
My blog still doesn't know how to tie its shoes. :(
But. This blog has seen the following developmental milestones:
* A job with incarcerated youth I loved. (I loved the job and I loved the youth)
* Best of MSN in 2006. Good job, blog!
* The amazing bloggers I've met (virtually, but in real life, too) through the blog. (I have amazing amounts of super massive tender feelings for these guys).
* A great plan to get a Master's to teach High School English and the joy of taking state licensure tests
* Acceptance into a Masters of Teaching Education Program!
* The devastating, sudden disintegration of a church marriage
* The healing that came with said dissolution
* The difficult decision to forgo the MTE
* A job promotion to supervise a Guardian Ad Litem Program
* A time period where not a lot happened. (That's not a milestone, but that is life).
* The decision to apply to an MSW program.
* The beginning of a courtship with a handsome deputy prosecuting attorney
* Acceptance into the MSW program!
* A move to Portland!
* A DPA who concluded our relationship was paramount to him and said he was all in, despite the distance
* LEARNING HOW TO RIDE THE BUS ALL BY MYSELF (now, if that doesn't say 5 year old, I don't know what does ...)
* Ups and downs of school. Mostly ups.
* Amazing new social worker friends
* A challenging and tender and difficult and beautiful internship counseling the elderly
* Acceptance into my internship of first choice for next year
Happy 5th Birthday, Blog. I started you on a whim while working graveyards at the juvenile detention center, but you've become an outlet and a concrete way to keep my anecdotal (non research related) writing skills sharp. You're a reminder of the not so good and the absolutely fantastic. We're still figuring out together what's real and what's imaginary and what peoples' intent are.
And I am also so very, very grateful to the amazing people I've met through the blogging community. The brief notes, the check ins, the witty remarks, the "you can do its"... I have neighborhood people who tell me this, too, but there's something to be said about the kindness of relative strangers. Bless you guys.
To birthdays!
Posts
Happy 5th Birthday Dear One! ;)
I think our blogs have almost the same birthdate :) I am so happy to have found you through this crazy mixed up www you are such a treasure to me! Let's talk soon! I am three hours behind you (hawaii time) but let me know when a good time to call is and I will call and we will have a good long chat. I am so thankful for the day I mentioned the vineyard town by name and we finally found each other in person!! Love love love you dear one.
Has it really been 5 years dear??!!? So amazing how time flies. I can not believe it. And you are, to me, still one of the best. Too bad blogger doesn't give out the awards like MSN Spaces did.