Fridays are for hiking.
At least most of them.
Iowa weather has been (mostly) cooperative this fall to allow me to hit the trails as we continue to march towards winter. I am usually alone as I trek step after step through the Iowa wilderness, though I try to take a 4-legged companion with me whenever I can.
My Friday hikes serve several purposes. Last March I set a goal to take 45 hikes before my 46th birthday in March 2021. I’m currently 34 completed hikes into that goal. Hiking provides a low impact way to move my body that is very different from the physical requirements of being a massage therapist. And when it comes down to it, walking through nature is my favorite way to simply process life. It’s my therapy.
It was on one of those hikes a couple weeks ago that the idea of starting a new blog, this blog, popped into my head. I started my first blog about 17 years ago as an accessible (and free) way to learn more about webpage design and management, new skills I needed to build as I took over some web-based projects for my job. I was not, nor ever expected to be considered, a writer. But through the years of sharing thoughts, family memories, and even a few craft projects, writing became something I looked forward to doing. Something I found both challenging and therapeutic. That first home for my words, a playground that holds so many memories, has been moved to the archives. One day I hope my girls find value and joy, and maybe even a little bit of wisdom, in the brief musings their mom published there.
Three years ago my world was unexpectedly turned upside down. The details of that event will not be shared here as it is not only my story to tell. But how that event affected me then and how it has changed me, that is a story I fully own. I am a different woman than I was before that moment. I have new scars, and new sprouts of growth. I am less confident in the future. I am struggling to restore trust, even in myself. One to already self-censor, sharing my inner thoughts, feelings, and dreams feels even less safe.
I also am less concerned with fitting in, with devoting time to activities that do not fill my soul with joy, or with pursuing a life that society sees as successful but that my heart can’t fully embrace. I am embracing the small but meaningful life that feels most authentic to my soul without apology. I’m focusing on belonging, maybe for the first time in my life, to myself…which can feel scary and lonely at times, but also liberating.
New scars. New sprouts of growth.
It’s the foundation of Woman After. It’s about sharing from the heart. It’s about celebrating the highs without being ashamed of the lows that help to paint the full rich picture of life. It’s about my journey. It’s about your journey. It’s about the constantly evolving and growing women we are each and every day after.
Thanks for reading. ~ Jenn
Woman After... 