I am so glad that Andrew and I are now much closer in geographic proximity to many of our loved ones…not all, but many.  We will continue to be “digital nomads” of a sort – travel is a shared passion I doubt will ever be quelled in our life together. But I feel so blessed that my amazing parents, two out of three kids, a newborn grandchild, beloved aunt and uncle, dear brother and sis-in-law, and many significant other extended family and friends are now a manageable car or train ride away.  The relative ease of us gathering for special occasions – or for no real occasion at all – is awesome…and we will keep working on a couple of outliers who shall remain nameless to get them in the ‘hood as well!  But, shout out to technologies good side of its double-edged sword!  We have just discovered how to have Facetime group calls! It’s the Brady Bunch reincarnated. So we can at least see and hear those far afield in a real time way.

This is a great lead-in to what prompts me to start writing this blog again.  I am leaving Facebook. Really.  I could spend time musing about all the reasons for this decision, but I don’t think the list would surprise anyone. Bottom line – with all the insanity we face day-to-day in the real world, I have simply decided that I don’t want to spend more energy deflecting craziness online or adding to it.   Instagram – I like the idea of sharing visuals with minimal commentary.  Twitter – I use it primarily in my professional persona, to raise awareness about the information that our team at Patient Power creates to support cancer patients – it’s a way to pay it forward.  LinkedIn – same deal.  But Facebook has become just…too much for me.  I have resolved to redirect my energy into this longer form of communicating that gives me much more satisfaction and it’s a way I find enjoyable to share the life adventures that mean the very most to me. I have resolved to reach out real-time more often to dear family and friends far and near…real-time conversations and more frequent visits and hosting are the best. It’s a redirection of energy – into things that fill me up, not bring me down or drain me.

So, I am going to try to be more diligent in journaling here – and be selective about what I share by trying to think before sharing: “Would anyone besides me really want to read this?” I may well miss on that judgement at times, but I hope that those who know me will give me feedback – or just pick up the phone and give me call. Or stop by and say hello (even better!).

Posting this with much love,

Esther