“May all that’s been reduced to noise in you become music once again.” ~ Unknown
remember this
Well, friends, here we are starting our tenth year together in the outhouse. That’s right; ten years. This little idea was only supposed to last a year, a project to get my creative juices flowing once more, pushing aside the mass of negativity that surrounded me at the time and replacing it with goodness, light, and positivity wherever I could find it. Mary Carroll-Hackett had entered my life when I needed her most, cheering me on every step, “You must write. Write!” she told me over and over. Simultaneously, my server dude Pete Poggione installed WordPress to transition my hand-built HTML site to something blog-able. There are no coincidences. This is how the Universe has always maneuvered me into where I need to be. Good things happen when I take heed. So, ten years later, here I am steeping my morning tea in the same cup I drank from ten years ago; my beloved “Believe in Peace” mug gifted by Lance Hughes, who had died just months before the outhouse was born. This morning I looked at the other side of the mug. “It comes from within,” it reminded me. Indeed, it does, and it has, and the outhouse has done what it set out to do and then some. Its surprising impact turned a one-year project into a decade-long journey, not just for me, but for many others near and far, some I don’t even know. They – you – have watched the vulnerability of my life unfold from that first post on January 1, 2012, through a tornado that ripped a chasm the size of the Grand Canyon through my home in West Liberty, births, deaths, marriages, family, friends old and new, the most mundane of days, travel adventures, migraines, music, hero and shero, ups and downs, new life goals in Historic Preservation, the list goes on. There has not been a single day in these past years that I did not find that one kernel of goodness in my day. Not. One. Even the darkest days offered something to be grateful for. Just drawing breath into my body, the pain of the day – whether physical or emotional – reminded me that I’m still alive, and as long as I’m alive, I have a chance to make tomorrow better for myself and those whom I love. There’s nothing more positive than that. To each of you who has stayed with me all this time, to those who joined in along the way, to those who have walked ahead of us all from this mortal coil, to those who joined in if only for a mile or two, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You’ve given me so much more than you’ll ever know. I hope 2022 brings us all as much happiness, love, peace, and contentment as we can stand. Let’s make the next ten years even better.
2 Responses
I love you more than you know and love your “outhouse” and the captions above and below. Dad and I are so very proud of you and so blessed that God chose us to be your parents.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts throughout these past 10 years, I have not always read your post but I have enjoyed the articles & photos those that have read, I can’t wait to see what the next ten years bring. ❤️