Vacation, all I ever wanted...

(cue The Go-Gos, lol)

Even my boss said, "You've earned it" as I walked out the office door tonight & into two weeks of vacation. My feet have been pedicured, my hair has been cut, and I feel the burden of work lifting from my shoulders. Woohoo!! Soon I'll be flying home to the comforts of my parents' house. Even at age 47, I still like being spoiled by my mommy & daddy. ; )

At the same time, my feelings are mixed, because we're rapidly approaching the 10-year "anniversary" of Katie's stillbirth, next week. (Vacation?? Mmmm, not quite...) I don't feel prepared. (But are we ever prepared?) I've been working madly on a few "anniversary" posts to publish next week (which is one reason why my commenting activities have been sadly lacking lately). Most of the material is "repurposed" from some old postings to an e-mail support group I once belonged to, but I've still been finding it difficult, editing, embellishing, and digging up those memories all over again.

Perhaps it's appropriate that Stirrup Queen Mel's latest blogging venture is kicking off this week. Following up on the foundations laid at the BlogHer conference earlier this month, Mel has created a site called Bridges to help build greater awareness and understanding among various blogging communities -- not just infertility & loss-related, but also including topics such as cancer, parenting special needs children, addictions, allergies and mental health. She describes it as "a consortium of compassionate bloggers who are looking to use writing to educate, tell a story, bring awareness, and build community." Go over, have a look, and add your blog to the community blogroll.

The site will include a Living Childfree After Infertility & Loss section, and I'm thrilled that Mel has asked me to be a contributing editor, alongside of Pamela Jeanne. She & I will be contributing our own posts -- but we're also looking to share posts from others that lend some insight into childfree living -- so please let us know if you spot any that fit the bill!