I started this blog almost 11 years ago. So long ago it seems. So much has happened in those 11 years that it’s hard to wrap my brain around it all! I am not the same person I was back then. I find that to be fascinating in a way. On the outside, I’m about 25 pounds heavier and I’ve stopped coloring my hair. There are lots of grays and those must be naturally curly, because this is what happens when I let my hair just dry naturally. 
I went from being a stay at home mom to a short stint as a catering manager and now I’ve been teaching school for 10 years. This year I graduated from a regular classroom teacher to an academic support teaching position focused on English language learners. I LOVE my job!
I navigated the ups and downs of dating girls and then married one of those girls. 
My kids have all grown up and are living their own lives, and I have been blessed with two super cute grand babies!
I distinctly remember the place I was in mentally 11 years ago as well. My life had been turned upside down by choices I had willingly made. I was looking up from rock bottom and trying to figure out how to get back up. I knew things would get better and that as time passed, I would begin to feel settled in a new normal. And I do feel settled. I can admit that my new normal is definitely harder than my old normal, but I wouldn’t go back to where I was before. I’ve learned too much and am more open to new experiences and different people than the old normal provided. That bubble I lived in before was comfortable and cozy, but it also alienated people and ideas that didn’t fit right. I know what it’s like to feel like I don’t fit right. And as I’ve contemplated all of the change in the last 11 years, I think I’ve come out on the other side innately the same person I was before. Which is and isn’t surprising.
I’ve just been sitting here staring at the computer for the last 10 minutes thinking about the ideas of things changing and staying the same and I have no words left for it. And I wonder where I’ll be in 11 more years.
Midlife Natalie 
So much of this, except I haven’t found a partner yet, I’m not ready to go grey or stop straightening my hair, and grandchildren for me will be at least a decade away. Glad you’re back to blogging, Natalie. Keep up the good work!