Is there a card for this?

Yesterday afternoon, I arrived home from DJ'ing my friend Mindy's fabulous wedding to realize that I had reached a milestone of my own: the 1st anniversary of this blog! I posted my very first blog entry on May 10, 2010. This illustrious occasion clearly calls for some sentimental musings.

People have been telling me that I should write a blog pretty much since blogs began. I agreed, but two things held me back: (1) I didn't know what to write about, and (2) I didn't think I could keep it up. I have loved writing ever since I was a little kid, but I have always struggled with focus and direction. In my opinion, my two biggest successes as a writer prior to this blog were a column I wrote in my college newspaper and my sermons. The column and the sermons have two very important things in common: a clear topic/structure and a deadline. In neither case do I have to re-invent the wheel every time I sit down to write, and I can't just tweak them endlessly and never finish. In the past, whenever people told me I should write a blog, I worried that a blog was just too open-ended for me. The freedom of it was paralyzing.

If you had told me as recently as 18 months ago that the thing that would finally motivate me to start a blog would be running, I never would have believed you. Yet, I think the theme of my adult life has been "expect the unexpected," so this seems appropriate. Running the marathon as a fundraiser for Kelly gave me exactly what I always needed to write a blog: a clear focus and a good reason to keep my posts regular and timely. In the beginning, I wrote because it was part of my fundraising process and I found it way easier to share the details of my training than to just ask people for money point-blank.

Pretty soon, though, my motivation shifted. I truly enjoy writing this blog, and I find the response to it consistently amazing. Some of my friends might be surprised to hear it, but I am at heart a very shy person, and I'm always a little surprised when people notice me. Thus, even after a year, I am still caught short every time some random person from my life (an old college acquaintance, someone from the gym, a person from church, etc.) approaches me and says something about this blog. I am also deeply touched by how many people have emerged from every nook and cranny of my life to offer support and advice regarding my athletic endeavors. I can't tell you how many times I have drawn on that support in more difficult moments.

So, on this 1st blog-iversary, I say a heartfelt thank you to all of my readers. I look forward to sharing this next year's adventures with you!