I’m Back.

It’s been a little over four months since I’ve written a post on Two Writing Teachers, though I’ve been writing daily.  Everyone said “your life will change after you have a baby.”  I knew it would, but I didn’t know how much it would.   Despite less time to sleep, lots more laundry, and hectic mealtimes, my life has changed for the better since Isabelle arrived earlier this year.

I’ve watched a lot of CNN and have used The New York Times, MSNBC, CNN, and Time Magazine Apps every day for the past four months.  A lot has happened in the world since I gave birth to Isabelle.  First there was the tragic shooting in Arizona at Congresswoman Giffords’ “Congress in Your Corner” Gathering.  Next, I witnessed the protests in Egypt (and across the Middle East), as well as the resignation of Mubarak.  The unrest continued in the Middle East and I saw gas prices rise and rise and rise.  I watched teachers and other public workers protested in Madison, Wisconsin.  Then, there were natural disasters in Japan and throughout the Southeastern United States.  Soon after that, I was up early watching the Royal  Wedding with billions of other people.  Finally, Osama Bin Laden was killed by United States Special Forces.  All of this happened while I was joyfully watching my daughter’s first smile, first laugh, and first tooth.

It’s a pleasure to be back and blogging.  I’ll continue to spend the next few months with Isabelle while preparing for the speaking engagements and consulting work I will be doing later this summer and in the fall.  In addition, I will be attending the Teachers College Summer Institute for the Teaching of Writing in late June.  Please let me know if you’ll be there.

Finally, I’d like to thank Ruth for making my maternity leave from blogging possible.   Ruth was one of the first people with whom I shared the news of my pregnancy.  Initially I told her I’d need three months away from blogging when we chatted last spring.  Ruth heard my voice over the telephone in mid-March (of 2011) and asked, “Do you want to take another month away from blogging?”  While I wanted to take another month away, I was reluctant it would put more of a strain on her since she’s been blogging nearly seven days a week since January 1^st.  I said “yes” only after Ruth assured me that everything would be okay if I didn’t come back ‘til early May.  And, as you know, everything was more than okay here at Two Writing Teachers for the four months I was away from the blogosphere.

It’s good to be back.