In Transition, an Introduction

I begin this blog in a transitional state. I could write pages and pages about my life over the past five years – in fact, I probably should have started blogging years ago as therapy – but for the sake of keeping things as upbeat as possible, I’ll try and keep it brief. Over the past five years, I’ve battled infertility – ultimately deciding a year ago to end medical treatment after a number of failed IUIs and IVFs. During this already trying time, I lost both of my parents; my father to a two year fight with lung cancer and my mother unexpectedly two weeks prior to my father’s death to a rare autoimmune disease.

Needless to say all this tragedy took a huge toll on me and I struggled with depression for a few years after. I wallowed in the unfairness of it all and for a long time could only see those things that were missing from my life. While blogging then may have been therapeutic, I doubt I would have had much of an audience. If I could have tuned out my own thoughts back then I certainly would have. But fortunately I’m now in a healthier and happier place and I recognize for all the blows I’ve experienced, I have also been extremely blessed in this life. Ultimately those years have changed who I am and how I see the world and my place in it. I want to use this blog to help me sort through this still evolving mindset. Only time will tell if I’ll be able to do it eloquently or interestingly enough to attract an audience.

Most of all, I have come to understand at a very fundamental level that we only have a short time on this earth and its our primary responsibility to make the best life of what we are given. Sure, I realize that I’m not the first to come to this conclusion and in the past I have nodded knowingly when I read it or heard it somewhere. But recognizing it as true when you hear it is very different from understanding it fully. And understanding it fully is likewise extremely different from living your life by that principle.

To prove I’m not just all talk, I did quit my less-than-satisfying job six months ago. Of course quitting a crappy job is one thing, finding a successful and satisfying replacement is something else all together. In addition to professional transition, I’m also in transition to motherhood as husband and I decided a few months ago to build a family through adoption. Not wanting to break any blogging etiquette regarding length of posts, I’ll leave my musings on adoption and my career plans for future posts.

Well, as far as first posts go, this was probably a bit stuffy. And I hope I didn’t come off too high and mighty (dear reader, allow me to share my deep words of wisdom with you). Luckily I don’t yet have an audience to drive away. In the future, I promise to avoid writing my posts as if they are term papers I’m being graded on (and yes, I realize ending a sentence with a preposition would incur the wrath of the dreaded red pen).