My 2004 Xanga account certainly did not make the cut.
I was oblivious to the Myspace and AOL Instant Messenger phase. When I learned about Facebook, I wasn't even eligible, because I was no longer in college.
But Xanga. I blogged my little heart out, all over New Zealand, before I even knew what blogging was. I journaled about my teaching and traveling adventures. Each post was rich with detail. The breathtaking scenery, the hilarious things my students would do in class. How wildly uncomfortable and thrilling it was to be so far from home.
I was naive to think all the hours I invested into those stories would remain. I should have printed them off. I should have found a way to save them, you know, like on a floppy disc--the groundbreaking technology of our time.
But I never did.
I still have tremendous memories from my time in New Zealand. I also know that many have escaped.
I enjoy the freedom of just being in the moment. Not putting pressure on myself to interrupt the experience by taking a photo or making notes.
Sometimes while navigation something so profound, like the adoption process of our daughter, the reality and rawness of it all truly leaves me speechless.
There are things I never ever want to forget, but I can't bring myself to type.
Sometimes words are not enough to convey the depth of what those moments felt like.
So here I am, making a promise to myself,
that 2023 at Seek First Ranch will be the [NEW] Year of the Blog.
Many of these posts will be for me. For memories I don't want to slip through the cracks.
Some of these posts will be for you, because I want you to be healthy and thriving, and if I learn something that can help me and our family, it just might help you too.
And some of these posts will be for both of us, because I have questions, and I want to hear your ideas.
Literally, I don't know what these posts will look like, because as soon as I dig in to this platform over the upcoming months, I'll get lost in the font and color choices. Today, I'm leaving everything in default-mode. After all, I'm not ready to get all fancy-like with formatting. Not yet anyway.
Figuratively, I don't know what these posts will look like, because I don't know how often people will be willing to push 'pause' on the other things they have going on in their lives to engage in a journey through life here on the ranch.
But I do know this. If you are at this spot on the page, I appreciate that you are willing to share your time with me and with our family.
Now.
This is the part where I ask you a question or two. By the way, if you didn't gather from our name, we LOVE asking questions.
Here they are for today:
Tell me how old you are without telling me how old you are. (I already dated myself with references to obsolete technology and social media platforms, but I'd also love for you to know that my high school friends and I had a whole dance routine choreographed to the at-the-time recently released, hit song, "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys. Yes, it WAS as good as you are imagining.)
I don't know if you are into New Year's Resolutions or not, but if you have identified something that you would like to be intentional about right now-in whatever season of life you are in...I'd love to hear about it. Sometimes sharing (and maybe even being a bit vulnerable) can help us hold ourselves accountable to the things we commit to doing.
That's it for today! Join us next time....when....spoiler alert...imma probably dabble in different font styles. Keepin it WILD friends, keeping it wild.
Copyright © 2023 Tara Dukart of Seek First Ranch. All Rights Reserved.
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