lately.

clearly, i need to utilize my awesome camera lens travel mug more

It's been a busy couple of days for me, but I wanted to pop in tonight for two reasons:

1. I committed to the Blog Every Day In May challenge, & even though I knew I wouldn't be using all of Jenni's prompts, I knew that I wanted to get something down in this space for every day of the fifth month this year. 

2. I genuinely miss blogging with regularity. I miss my blogging routine, my rhythm, my interactions with other bloggers, etc. Having a rough blogging month has, once again, brought to my attention that I love being a part of this community. 

With that being said, since I've arrived back in Wilmington on Monday, I have begun school. This is something I'm really excited about, but it's taken up almost all of my energy the past two days. For the rest of this week, I will be meditating on a new weekly routine for myself, so that I can get back with the program & start doing all the lovely blogging things I'd like to do. Not only that, but there are some long overdue thank you notes that must be written & sent out, some reading I'd like to do more of [my book of choice right now is The Casual Vacancy, by J.K. Rowling, which I'm really enjoying], & a seemingly endless slew of other little tasks that simply must be achieved. 

Tomorrow evening, I'll be sharing an Around Here Lately post, with a bunch of images from my month-long trip to Shreveport. I'm also currently working on my June editorial calendar, so I'm excited about getting some great, quality posts up for the next month. And what I'm really looking forward to in the next couple of weeks, is getting back in touch with all of you.

camera lens mug from kris | instagram

best of siddathornton.

Today, for the Blog Every Day In May challenge, Jenni prompted us to write out a list of links for our favorite posts in our archives - a Best of Siddathornton, if you will. Thus, I give you: my favorite posts, to date. Oh, & for the sake of brevity, I will be choosing from the last couple of months. Not the entire archive.

what i want to blog about | a post hastily tapped out in a deliciously, inspiringly over-caffeinated state.

sidda just loves books | a post that explains my blog name.

on time | one of my most honest posts, about how the passage of time stresses me out at times

choosing our snapshots | a post about how we choose what we share.

a little look at pinehurst | some thoughts about our visit to pinehurst, north carolina.

friday's letters, to myself | an edition of friday's letters in which i write to myself.

glimpses of spring | one of the charleston snapshot series - lots of beautiful flowers & color.

the kind of person | a list of attributes i hope to one day rock.

waving goodbye to 2012 | the year in review. and trust me, there was a LOT to review.

and, of course, all of the sunday currently posts.

What are your favorite blog posts you've written? Go share on Jenni's blog.

the struggle.

Today - for the challenge - I'm going to talk about something I bet every who has moved away from their hometown has dealt with. Of course, there are those badasses out there who listen to their call to adventure, who can still feel connected even when they're thousands of miles from that place they for so long called home. You may have already guessed this, but I am not one of those people.

 

While Justin was in PA school, we talked about moving away from our hometown, to get out & see more of the country. To have an adventure. To go make a new place our own.

 

And when he did his preceptorship, which is basically a three-month internship at the end of PA school, he went twelve hours away to Greenville, South Carolina. I went & visited twice, & we fell in love with that little city & its picturesque downtown. In those summer days spent seeing patients, playing golf, & exploring a new state, we both fell in love with the idea of living in the Carolinas, he from up-close, myself from far-away & by proxy.

 

Needless to say, in the space of time after PA school graduation & now, we got engaged, moved to North Carolina, got married, & settled into Wilmington. And I love Wilmington. I love its beaches, I love its beauty, & I love it's riverfront downtown, with restaurants and ice cream right there on the water. I love being in a different place, forging my own way, & relying on Justin for partnership & companionship.

 

But, it's hard to be so far removed from our families, from our friends, & from familiarity.

 

So, I guess that's what I'm struggling with lately: just the duality of loving Wilmington & feeling so safe & secure in Shreveport, surrounded by people who love us. The duality of adventure, excitement, newness, in stark contrast to familiarity, comfort, & normalcy. During my last trip to Shreveport, which I am just now arriving home to Wilmington from today, this struggle was really brought to the forefront of my mind.

 

But, I am excited to see what the future holds for us in Wilmington. There is still so much to be explored, so many people to meet, & so many things to get involved in. And I'm glad that Justin will be alongside me throughout it all, experiencing it at the same time. To me, that is the ultimate comfort.