Mixing Glitter - Part 1.

Photo by: Stephanie Ramsey

Recently I’ve been on the struggle bus trying to figure out how transparent I want to be with my life, with my kids, with my businesses.  I’ve gotten off Facebook, I deleted my old Twitter, my Instagram is now private, and I erased my old blog, “Glitter, Y’all” – did any of you used to read it? 

And now I miss writing.  I miss sharing. 

I could try to recap my last couple of years but they have been such a whirlwind that 1-2 sentences just won’t work.  THAT story is a post all its on!  

Mixing Glitter was a close second to the name of this blog for a lot of reasons.

I'm a big lover of metaphors – and when I imagine my life, my brain, my passions, my family – I imagine it like mixing glitter.  Just put that image in your mind. Four or five beautiful, different colored glitters all being poured onto a big, fat canvas covered in glue.  It’s beautiful.  It’s messy.  The glitter is everywhere.  But oh man – it’s so pretty. 

It took a while to decide to write this blog because I couldn’t find my purpose.   Rather, I couldn’t pin-point my one purpose.  I couldn’t pick just one glitter to write about.  It just felt messy.  So – screw it.  I’m going to write about it all.  Glitter IS messy!

On the personal side, I have a 2 and a half year old with my ex.  I am about to marry a man with 2 sons, ages 5 and 7, from his previous marriage.  And I can find blogs aplenty with traditional, nuclear families - the kind of family ours is not. 

When Rob (my almost hubby) and I first began merging our families, I wanted needed to talk to others in similar situations.  I either have friends in their upper 20s who have successful careers and are single.  Or, I have friends that have been married in the 5 years or less range with maybe 1 kid.  I don’t really know anyone who is recently divorced, remarried, or who has a kid with their ex-boyfriend. Blended families was a new world for me.

I searched for blogs without much luck.  I wanted to find another girl my age who had a full-time career, and was trying to balance her personal life, work life, and was mixing life with another family.  I wanted someone to tell me this hard stuff is normal.  I wanted someone to tell me I was doing something right.  I just wanted a tribe of people who were in my boat, or who had been in my boat in the last decade.  This is what first made me want to start blogging again - so that the girl that is mixing her own glitters for her own beautiful, messy, blended family will have a support system in me.

Can you see now why Mixing Glitter was a close second?  I’m a big ole mess!  But my life is beautiful – and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I am so blessed.

xo - Ava