Can It Really Be Four Years?

That’s right…it’s the 4th anniversary of The Juggle Struggle…

and no one even baked a cake…

This is my 230th post (relax, math wizards, there was a brief time when I posted twice a week). Tomorrow will be the 4th anniversary of The Juggle Struggle. (The rough start to the blog is really 10 years old, but it was more idea than reality.)

 

 

While this is a decent milestone that might be something I should celebrate…this past week ranked a “craptastic” on the crap-o-meter…from the deaths of our two pups, to Trump using his assessment of a woman’s looks as the reason why he wouldn’t “choose” her to sexually assault, to other various difficult slings and arrows that have come my way. It’s just been a super shitty week, and my well has kind of run dry.

So perhaps the best way to “celebrate” this anniversary is to share with you a few of the most read posts of mine over the years, as well as a few others that I believe you might find worth reading.

[Side note: I truly appreciate the outpouring of care and empathy about the loss of our dogs from those of you in both my cyber and physical worlds.]

 

 

The Top Five Posts

 

1. “When the Wolves Decide What’s Best for the Sheep”—The reason that this little ditty is ranked so high is because it kind of went locally viral, as it dealt with a combative suburban teachers’ strike. It’s my opinion about letting those who are not educators make important decisions for those who are.

 

2. “Lessons from a Failed Tube Top Experiment”—This post was included in Glennon Doyle Melton’s Messy, Beautiful Warrior Project, which obviously extended my normal reach. It continues to be a popular search result, too…lots of people searching for boobs popping out, I guess.

 

3. “Let It Go: An Anthem for Girl Power”—Chalk the popularity of this post up to the popularity of the movie. Not surprisingly, this is not my only writing on girl power or feminism. One of my picks below is another example of my heart and passion for gender equality.

 

4. “This Is Why My Vote Truly Represents My Faith”—one of several pieces on this year’s election. I think this one strikes a chord with people who are grappling with their faith not being truly reflected by the major party that so proudly touts how one religion defines its values. (Spoiler alert: It’s not my party.)

 

5. “Beautifully Broken”—I’ve fallen in love with a word that I think describes the power behind the concept of being beautifully broken: kintsukuroi. It means “to repair with gold,” and it is the Japanese art of “repairing pottery with gold or silver lacquer and understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken.”

 

 

That rounds out the top five most numerically popular posts over The Juggle Struggle’s four years. Now I’d like to share five more that I think you might find worth a read.

 

1. “The ‘Lasts’ Go By in the Blink of an Eye”—focuses on some of life’s “lasts” and striving to be mindful as they zoom right by.

 

2. “Notes to My 17-Year-Old Self”—some of the things I would let my young self know if I had the chance.

 

3. “Standing at a Crossroads”—more about life’s journey and the paths not so clearly laid out before us.

 

4. “Reclaiming the Other F Word”—this “f word”—feminism—is one that some hesitate to use because of how certain people interpret its meaning. I fight to dispel the negative connotation and strive to prove that equality lifts everyone up. As I stated earlier, this is a topic that has my heart. It’s one of the “struggles” of the juggle struggle faced by so many.

 

5. “When You Know It’s Time to Say Goodbye”—this was just last week’s post, but I think it hit home for many. And in the seven days since writing it, we’ve had to say goodbye to two of our dogs. That’s why this week has left me drained and laid low.

 

 

I hope that you decided to take a peek or two—or ten—at these posts and found them to be worth your time. It is time that I value and greatly appreciate your giving to me and my words. Thank you for listening to me.

I’m not sure if The Juggle Struggle will make it to its 5th anniversary. I’m contemplating turning it into a monthly blog or maybe even closing shop. We’ll see. It’s not a good time to make such decisions. If you have an opinion one way or the other, please feel free to share in the comments. If not, then I’ll let that help inform my decision.

 

All photos are my own or used with permission.

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