Go Bloggy, It's Ya Birthday...

OK so I know I'm late, about 15 days. But if it hadn't been for the "lost week" then maybe I would have made it on time instead of having to celebrate this milestone belatedly.

If you've had enough of my vague references...IT'S MY BLOG'S BIRTHDAY!  

Happy Birthday 

"Love in the Time of Transplant!"  

You are OFFICIALLY one-year old.  I guess that makes you a toddler, right?

As a writer and as someone who just assumes that people want to read about my life,  I've started quite a few blogs over the past five or six years.  All of them died in their infancy, fizzling out after about a month and maybe one or two posts.  For some blogs I was only able to fill out an "About Me" section stating how excited I was to share a certain aspect of my life, my experiences, adventures and thoughts.   I invested so much effort into creating the perfect layout and description for the blog that I suppose I exhausted all of the excitement and energy that I should have used to, oh, I don't know, write an actual blog post. It was actually my husband (always him) who encouraged me to start this blog and to see where it takes me.  

When I experience something, be it big (like a kidney transplant or a wedding) or small (like a stupid common cold) I immediately want to write about it.  This is the case for all writers I suppose.  After our first meeting with the transplant coordinator, as sad and unfortunate as it was to have to talk about surgery and knives and expensive health care, I couldn't help but think that the experience would make a funny story because Ben and I were starving during that meeting!  I love reading that blog post, my first one.  Really, it's such a great summary of how this entire year and experience with kidney failure, my family and my husband has been.  There's always been something to smile about and laugh at, even when what we were dealing with was really no laughing matter.  And for that, I am grateful.

Not every post I have written has a funny angle.  There are plenty of sad ones.  Strangely enough, many of those posts are the ones I'm most proud of.  When I started this blog I had no idea what it would turn into, what other types of things I would write.  But as I wrote more and more, I realized that I didn't just want my blog to show the "funny side" of things or the silver linings, or the times when I was being optimistic or positive or hopeful.  I read a lot of blogs like that and I love them for what they are. I truly do love looking at life in the best way possible and trying to make the best out of things.  But I also believe in what's real. I believe that sometimes...life f*&ck$% SUCKS.  And that you don't always feel good about what's going on in your life.  And that's OK.   If you've ever gone through something terrible and had someone tell you to "stay positive" then you know what I'm talking about.  Sometimes, you just don't feel like doing that at that second!  And that's OK!  Some people may not agree with me but I totally encourage pity parties, alone or with friends or family members...or brownies.

I've also loved all of the posts I've written about my faith.  I didn't intend to turn this space into a "Christian blog" or anything like that.  Not because I didn't want to make anyone feel like they couldn't read it because they're not Christian.  Mostly because, I am not the "perfect" Christian I guess you can say.  I curse in many of my posts. Ben and I were shackin' up before marriage.  I don't immediately go to the WORD when I'm feeling a certain negative way about things.  I didn't want people to look at me and say "Oh, she's a Christian and she's doing this and that."  But, I can't control other people and what they think. I can't control what you the readers think either.  But I love you nonetheless. And I love God. And I know that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  I write about my faith not because I'm trying to change people.  Only God can do that. But I like sharing what I learned in church or during my private study, and how God saved me and has done so much for me in my life.  He's the reason I can write to you today and say "Hey! I had a kidney transplant! And it worked! Huzzah!"

Anyways, one-year of writing, sharing, and being real.  I love this blog. I'm grateful that other people love it too.  Thank you readers.  I guess I'll keep going.  

To Celebrate LITOT's 1st Birthday, Revisit the TOP 5 MOST READ Posts from the Past Year!

When Your Fiance Gets a Transplant   
This makes my heart happy :) Y'all loved this amazing post from my husband, who is an awesome AWESOME writer.  I really need to get him to write more.  Please help me convince him!

 The Best Rehearsal Dinner Ever...Probably
I guess everyone really wanted to know how our rehearsal dinner went!  Or...you were scanning for wedding information :) Don't worry...I've got wedding recaps coming Feb. 3.

10 Things, One Tube 
One of my favorite "list posts."  I'm glad so many people wanted to know what life was like with a tube coming out of my stomach...a.k.a. a peritoneal dialysis catheter.

The Best Thing About My Dialysis Appointment Was Krispy Kreme 

 This was one of the longest posts I've written, I think.  So many of you took in my thoughts on learning about dialysis and then nursing my broken heart with Krispy Kreme.

Mini-Moon and a Blogcation
Surprisingly, a lot of people read my last post before my first vacation post-transplant.  I can't wait to see how many of you read about Greece (3 months til departure)!!