I clicked PUBLISH on my first post 10 years ago today. Never would I have dreamed that I would still be adding posts a decade later. Writing on this blog for the last ten years has been a learning journey, a reflection tool, and a fun way to capture some big life events. For the first six years of its life, I celebrated my blog’s birthday with a round up reflection post (see 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th , 6th and 8th birthday posts). I’m not sure why I didn’t write a post in year 7, but I can blame the pandemic on the lack of a 9th post!

Since July 2020, my word of 2021 was daring and my word of this year is connection. Last year was my best reading year ever recorded on this blog (thanks to my 6 week medical leave full of reading!). Also thanks to the pandemic, I haven’t done much traveling in the last two years. I did manage a girl’s trip to Austin, Texas, some visits to Las Vegas to see my nephews, and a trip to Memphis, Tennessee with good friends. I also made it to Boston, MA for a rescheduled concert and to Seattle, WA with my favorite group, New Kids on the Block.

Even when I only publish one post a month, my reading updates, I still think about writing other posts. I have an entire folder of drafts that have been started, but not finished, for a variety of reasons. I love that I have no pressure to post any more or less than I do, as I have always used this blog for myself and my own reflection, that I’m willing to share in public. I’m happy when other people read my blog, and I LOVE when people comment on the posts or tell me personally that they have read and enjoyed something I wrote. But I have not set up a required schedule that I must follow. I write when the mood strikes, when I really need to reflect on something, and when I am drawn to share my thoughts.

Here are a few stats about my 10 years of blogging:

• 484 posts
• 2014 – the year I wrote the most words (34,000!) and received the most written comments
• 2013 – the first full year I wrote the least words (8,000!)
• Average words per post – fluctuate from 300 to 1,000
• The word that people search the most that leads them to my blog: reflection
• Most read post of all times: Core Values
• Most read post of 2022: Carbon Footprint