A First Post.

My first blog post.

I feel like this should come with some sort of celebratory “WELCOME,” so I will go ahead and say it:

“Welcome to the blog!”

Officially, welcome.

Honestly, I have put off starting this blog for some time. Sooo many people have suggested starting a site over the past several years. And, I put it off.

Then, when I finally had a page, I definitely put off writing this first post. Mainly because first posts are weird. I mean, what else are you really supposed to say but offer a gracious “welcome” and a “thank you for being here”? So, in line with the idea of that being the purpose of any first blog post, an assumption which may or may not exist entirely in my own head, I offer both statements to those who choose to follow.

The other big reason for my delay in launching this blog is due to the fact that I absolutely despise recounting the beginning of stories when so many chapters have already been written and retold, seemingly in endless repetition, to countless faces and on any number of different channels. A lot of labor and emotions and energy goes into retelling the same story.

And, I did not want to do that here. It takes a long time to retell the story of what led you to the point you are at in life at any given moment, especially if you happen to hold a particularly introspective personality, as I do. Retelling a personal story is a lot.

And yet, launching a blog necessarily requires some offering of purpose, an explanation for your sharing, your voice, your perspective.

The backstory is important for many reasons.

And I will get to that story in time — more likely than not in bits and pieces, stops and starts of re-telling….

But, for now, for the time being, I will simply introduce you to my family, which is — at its heart — my most foundational reason for writing this post, launching this blog, and, really, for everything I do.

This is my family.

It is me (Whitney), my husband Jason and our son Malachi. We also have two furry family members, Neptune and Marmalade. They are our geriatrics — both are 13 years old. We live in the Seattle area, in a suburb community, in a single-level rancher. We bought our house as a true fixer-upper in 2020 and have been working (sometimes, ferociously) to fix ‘er up ever since. We moved to Seattle from a smaller city in central Washington in 2019 so our son could access big-city style medical care. Malachi was born with disabilities and complex medical needs in January 2018 and has spent many months of his life receiving care at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Jason and I both work 100% remotely and are full-time parents and caregivers. We also travel a lot, mostly in our camping trailer, which is a BIG part of what I will share here on this blog.

Because this blog is about exactly that — our travels, our adventures, our choice to live boldly and to parent boldly. Boldly and widely and wildly and loudly, with resilience and passion and purpose. That is the road we have chosen with intention to pave for our family. And that road, our life, is the journey I will share.

So, with that — one more time — WELCOME to my blog:

This Chosen Road.