I am always fascinated with the vibrancy and deep passion people have when sharing stories involving their families, friends and extended family. This personal storytelling weaves together the inherent connections we all have when we bump up against others, different perspectives, life experiences and the daily ups and downs of everyday life. The shared experiences of others enrich and gently guide our own paths in this life and help us to grow.
The inspiration for this blog comes from how deeply I’ve been touched by the stories of others in my life and especially by our own personal story over the last years, and specifically in the last year, with our daughter. With the beginning of our family, a new set of experiences, reflections, future hopes and vivid “ah-ha” moments have surfaced. We have appreciated that in becoming parents, we have become beginners in this world again- seeing and making sense of our own experiences through new sets of eyes.
Our family is currently Melisa, Jason and Lucy, our 1 year old daughter. We will also be welcoming 2 more bundles of joy (twins!)- two more girls they tell us- in July or August. We will start writing from now, but first, a brief history of where this all started.
We (Jason and Melisa) met at college in Western NY about 11 years ago and what started out with an easy friendship surrounded by friends, lots of laughs and music, became a close relationship in which we became pretty much inseparable. Following college, we were seeking some new scenery and figured that Seattle, WA would be a good enough place to check out. In late 1999, we set sail to the West in a UHaul with $1000 for what was to be only a year stay based around Melisa’s AmeriCorps position. Things worked out better than expected and we kicked up our heels on the West coast until 2004 when the familiar itch for change got the better of us again and we journeyed back to western NY for Melisa to start a new career direction and to be closer to family and friends. Although we still continue to miss the NW more than most people in our lives probably imagine, we are very happy to be back in this neck of the woods surrounded by family, friends and good times. Over the last couple of years, Melisa earned her masters and began teaching and Jason started a new job and a side business of his own. We plunked down, bought a house and then, 1 year ago, about 5 weeks early, our little wild woman, Lucy, entered our life. She hasn’t stopped amazing us since the day she made her surprise arrival!
What a huge and awesome change it has been to jump into this new role as parents, but what a mind-blowing year it has been! We can only anticipate how much better it is going to get with the changes ahead in the next months. This is the very first post of what we hope will become a place to record our family’s unique story to share with others. Please remember that this blog only reflects our personal experiences and interpretations- it is unique to us, at this time, with our circumstances and set of prior experiences to base new ones on. In other words- expect down to earth, honest and imperfect stories of life from our corner of the world. I hope you will join us on what is sure to be quite a interesting ride as well as share your experiences back with us!