Suddenly *Not So* Single Journey

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge…

Author: thenicknick

Well, I’ve never heard of Gwen Bell.  And yes, I guess I do live under a very nice rock, thanks.  I say this because given the sheer number of individuals who have already signed up for the challenge, she must be well-known and popular.  So, thanks Martini Mom for the heads up.  (I read her and learn so much!  Remind me to share the Pomplamoose find soon…)

Anyway…Gwen Bell has a blog challenge which consists of a series of daily writing prompts which are designed to make the blogger reflect on his/her year.  And we know what a challenge it is for me to be introspective…right.  Regardless, it does follow with the entire premise of my blog, wherein I work on self-discovery and self-improvement.  So, I decided I would announce the challenge and periodically post on a given prompt.

Personally, I’m glad I didn’t discover the challenge right away.  Day one I would have had to revisit my best trip of the year.  Let’s see.  Hmm.  Would it be the cruise I took with Sam in February that spawned a whole lot of posts?  Would it be the trip we took to Myrtle Beach with his sister and her family in April, just after we decided to move in together?  Would it be the trip to Great Wolf Lodge that he insisted we take with the kids at the end of August just before they started school, less than six weeks before he did the cha cha on my heart?  Which bittersweet memory should I have selected?  Yeah, so I avoided day one.

Then day two was about a restaurant experience.  Oh, great.  So, do I write about one of our restaurant experiences on one of our trips or dining out with the kids or a night out alone in town together…  And that’s why I didn’t want to write about day two.  (But really, if I was going for funniest/most trying dining experience…the one where I threatened to tranq Rachel…hands down.)

Day three I was supposed to be writing about an article I read that really blew me away.  Well, I don’t see me parlaying an article I read about sex in Cosmo into a post.  My mother and daughter read this, damn it.  (So, I guess I need to read something else while I wait to get my hair cut next time?)

So, finally, on day four, I can write…albeit briefly… on a book I read that moved me, changed me, had me recommending it to others.  That book, ladies and gentlemen, (drum roll, please) would be The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.  How can anyone not love this book?  Rachel had to read it for her summer reading, so I looked at it as an excuse to read a novel I had heard so much about.  I was so intrigued, I barely let it out of my sight long enough for Rachel to read it.  I, in turn, recommended it to a patient, who also enjoyed it and has since started reading the blog.  (Hello, Mr. Taylor!)

There are more topics for me to write on.  I checked.  And some of them I’m really looking forward to.  For example, if you come back tomorrow, you can read about a night I went out that had absolutely NOTHING to do with Sam.  Yay!  It’s so reassuring to know that I did SOMETHING this past year that didn’t involve him in any way, shape, or form.  I’m so looking forward to 2010.  I’m ready for a fresh start and so much promise.  And this month, I like the idea of reminiscing about 2009 on the blog.

Enjoy!

This entry was posted on Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 12:07 am and is filed under Blog Challenge. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.