On June 26, 2007 I wrote my first blog post. My kids looked, roughly, like this. Though it was summer, so with less parkas.

Now they are 15 and 18 and my daughter is getting ready to go to college. And, I am left staring at the same cursor that I’ve stared at a thousand times. It won’t quit blinking. I can’t stop blinking.

If you had asked me in 2007 where I saw myself in 10 years, I would have never answered that I’d be a single-mom with a career in social media. Neither of those would have seemed a remote possibility. I sure didn’t anticipate that I’d be dating the cute guy from my ninth grade history class. Sometimes, though, life is a series of fortunate events.

This space was built on good timing, networking and comedy gold in the form of my children, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the life-changing opportunities BlogHer gave me. I will be forever grateful to them for expanding this blog’s reach, providing sponsorship, and for handing over their Twitter account to a part-time lunch lady who used to tweet from her personal account after taking Ambien. If you think that’s a run-on sentence, you should have seen what I used to tweet.

If I had more time, I’d write a lot more and maybe even finish the novel I referred to in my first post – the one I started writing before blogging was a gleam in my eye. But, even if I can manage to finish that book, I can’t imagine not always having this space to return to. I’m sure I’ll appreciate it when I’m retired and traveling around the country in my RV. Wait until you hear those stories.

Forrest Gump was way off. Life is like a series of blog posts. Some days are funny, others are filled with immense pain, but mostly I’m just happy to be breathing and still in this space watching the cursor move forward. Thanks for blinking along with me.

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Hoo boy. This is going to hurt.

I honestly don’t know where to begin, because I never thought I’d be saying it. I guess I’ll just start at the beginning.

Six years ago, my family was struggling financially. I had been blogging for a few years, I was working part-time, but a failed business and medical bills were eating us alive. A series of events, however, was about to change my life:

1. Even though we didn’t have enough funds for me to attend, I was chosen as a volunteer for the BlogHer ’09 conference, which covered the cost of my pass. That was the same year a partnership with GM paid for my my transportation to Chicago and a roommate who won a sweepstakes paid for my room. It was all very fortuitous.
2. In April of 2010, a childhood friend of mine invited me to a conference for pet bloggers she had co-founded here in Columbus. The keynote speaker was Elisa Camahort Page, COO of BlogHer. I met Elisa for lunch and soaked up all the knowledge I could.
3. I attended the BlogHer ’10 conference in NYC and Elisa spoke on a panel about resume writing for bloggers. That session gave me ideas about how to be creative, to own accomplishments outside of an office, and how to present myself as an asset to employers despite a gap in my employment history.
4. That fall, I tweeted that I was looking for an additional part-time job and Elisa reached out to me. I pulled out my notes from her session at BlogHer ’10 and crafted myself a resume based off of her tips. I got the job.

Within six months of my hiring, Elisa and her marketing team had molded me into a full-time, support-staff employee with a lot of responsibilities. After working through BlogHer ’11, Elisa made me the Social Media Manager – of a major social media organization and the largest community of women who blog. Since 2010, Elisa has been my mentor and I have her to thank for a whole new career. She absolutely changed my life.

Since 2010, I have loved my job and co-workers, but Friday, September 4th will be my last day as a BlogHer employee.

It’s one thing to be given what BlogHer gave me, but sometimes excellent things happen twice in a lifetime. I was recently approached about a new opportunity and in two weeks I will start a position with Nationwide Children’s Hospital as a Senior Account Manager for one of the best pediatric hospitals in the country. I have been associated with them for 13 years, since my son was whisked away by ambulance to their facility on the day he was born.

I am leaving one great community for another, I’m going back to school, and I’m taking the lessons I’ve learned in the past year to take more chances when I feel like the timing is right. I’m excited to be affiliated with this life-changing, life-saving, organization and to see what we can do together to make their online community as unparalleled as BlogHer’s.

What I will take with me from BlogHer are not only analytical skills and techniques that built upon my past managerial experience – thank you Elisa, Jory and Lisa – but, also unprecedented education from the most wonderful community online.

And, THERE are the tears.

You, who taught me about love and diversity. You, who taught me about inclusion and generosity. You, who taught me how to talk, listen, engage, ask questions, and share, I will miss you.

I will miss you, social media experts, photographers, humorists, cooks and poets. I will even miss you, political blogger – just not as much as the rest.

The community is the reason BlogHer was created and they are the inspiration, motivation, love, connection and education that have been part of my workday for the past five years. They are more than a community; they are family. Thankfully, that means they can’t just get rid of me.

I’ll still be around. I’ll still be at the conferences. I’ll still be reading your blogs and streams and posts. And, I will always be a BlogHer.

So, this really isn’t goodbye. It’s just me heading in a new direction, yet never out of sight.

Follow along on my journey here and here and thank you for everything YOU have given me. It has been a gift to be part of your life.

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Today was kind of boring. My employer, BlogHer, was bought by SheKnows Media. This acquisition makes my new employer, SheKnows, the most influential, online, women’s lifestyle network reaching 147.4 million social media fans and followers each month. YAWN. Typical Monday.

Just to refresh your memory, I am a social media manager. Social was a little busy today, what with national media outlets, online influencers, marketers and community members blowing up my Twitter feed with millions upon millions of impressions about the merger. This morning there were copious amounts of coffee, tonight there will be wine. Kind of like There Will be Blood, but with less Daniel Day-Lewis and more slurring.

What does this all mean for me? I don’t really know yet. I know that I’m a part of something big and I’m extremely grateful to be in this position. I know I got here with a lot of hard-work, sacrifices, self-motivation, networking, AND A WHOLE LOT OF LUCK AND BEING IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME.

You really just never know when you’ll be at a pet-blogger conference organized by your childhood friend and bump into the COO of the company that runs ads on your blog. You know, the blog you started on a whim? And, she’s a vegan and your wearing camo pants, so you make a great first impression. Then she offers you a job and changes your world.

But, that’s the thing about life, you can’t predict it. Ever. You can try to plan your path, but you don’t really know where it will lead or who you’ll merge with to create a new chapter.

One thing’s for sure, I can’t wait to see what happens next.

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At the BlogHer ’14 Closing Party last Saturday night, I was in the front row when Rev Run from Run-D.M.C. took the stage. Sure, I’m white with size 11 feet which make it impossible to dance without tripping over myself and it’s true that the front row should have probably been reserved for attendees and not employees, but I also know that life is short and opportunities to be sweat upon by one of the pioneers of rap don’t happen very often. If at all.

I also laid down on the floor in the middle of the Expo Hall with a dog from Pets Add Life. You know why? Because pets add life. I don’t have a picture of the dog because two days later I had to FEVERISHLY delete pictures and video from my phone to make room for pictures and video of Justin Timberlake. As my friend Melisa says, “I see where your priorities are.”

Objects are closer than they appear.

So close, yet so far.

What?

In the last week, I sipped sangria under the setting sun and the Santa Cruz mountains, took a road-trip with my daughter, spent time with wonderful friends and inspirational writers, and took a beautiful walk with my son. I also drank a Sonic slush with Nerds in it. Hashtag, livin’ large.

I also had a pretty rough, emotional breakdown.

Yesterday my Zoloft was all, “I don’t THINK so” and I spent a good portion of the day crying and wishing I could crawl into bed and wake up to find all my problems solved. Luckily, I have children who kind of still need me to take them places, a puppy who is relentless about needing to pee, and work deadlines that kept me from lying in a horizontal position all day.

I also have a husband who, despite his own frustrations, called me and told me to meet him at the gym and a trainer who would not take no for an answer. Those two guys, and a whole lot of free-weights, pulled me from the depths. I showed up at the gym a swollen, red, splotch-faced mess, but I haven’t shed a tear since my first set of exercises last night.

There were times yesterday when I felt like I couldn’t put one foot in front of the other, but I did. Lunge-style. I can’t tell you how my mind and body are connected, but they most definitely are.

What I can tell you is that this living life to the fullest thing? It’s exhausting. I don’t know who would imagine that physically exhausting yourself MORE is the answer, but for me it is.

Now I know the next time I feel that down, all I need to do is get up. I’m not saying that it’s easy and I’m not saying this will work for you. But, me? I’ll take anything that lets me keep making memories. Me and my Adidas have things to do.

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