Three years ago today, I thought to myself Hey, I don’t have enough to do, with working and taking care of Grumperella, why not start writing intimate details of my life on the internet for all to read?

And poof, just like that A Mommy Story was born.

No, that wasn’t the name I wanted for this blog. I tried a few others first (can’t even remember what they were), and after several attempts I had nothing left but a reminder of TLC’s show A Baby Story, and thought, well, this is MY story, not hers. Eh, I choked.

I just went back to look at my first entry, and this was my very first sentence:

Yeah, I should probably say something really meaningful or inspirational for my first post, but, well, that’s just not me.

Whew. Good thing I didn’t set the bar high. That would have been disappointing, wouldn’t it? No way I was setting myself up for that kind of pressure and risk for failure. The post was supposed to be a placeholder that I would fill-in with something more grand at a later point. Well now, you see how that has worked out. (Ah, forgetfulness and procrastination!)

And by my third post, I was already writing open letters to idiots. Blogging came to me naturally, it seems.

Now three years later, I’m still here, still putting much of my life out on the internet, still writing my opinions for an audience larger than my immediate family who are tired of hearing me. (The immediate family that is – if you’re all tired of me, you are clearly lazy in pruning your feed readers.)

I don’t know if I expected to be writing here three years on. Blogs were all the rage three years ago, and I happily stuck out my thumb and lifted my skirt to show my knee when that bandwagon rolled past me. I certainly didn’t expect my life to be where it is today. I had no immediate plans for a second child back then, and autism was still a long way from our thoughts. Everything was easier back then.

But I’m glad I’m still blogging. I’ve met an amazing community of people and I’m proud to be a part of that community. It has been an up and down three years, and I’m glad to have shared it with all of you. I can only imagine Cordy and Mira someday reading these stories written by their mother of their early lives. They’ll probably wonder why I didn’t start anti-depressants earlier.

I’ve had some amazing opportunities thanks to blogging, and I’ve found many good friends from all reaches of the continent and beyond. I’ve cried with people I’ve never met in person, and have found great strength and support from complete strangers during difficult moments in my life. It probably sounds trite and cliche, but with Thanksgiving days away, I can say I’m thankful I started this little blog. It has been a life-changing event.

I never expected anyone to take an interest in my writing. So thank you for continuing to read and for sharing the experience with me.