Shell Sherwood is still alive.

Life has been a little chaotic lately. When I say lately, I mean for a while. When I say for a while, we’re talking for a few years now. 

When I first started this blog, I was on a new journey. I wanted a place to share my thoughts and stories. I planned to leave updates on my writing, my favorite books, and my favorite writing gadgets (my favorite one by far). I wanted to publish children’s books, poetry, and fiction novels. I really wanted to enter the writing community and make some writing friends I could brainstorm with. 

Not much has changed there. That’s still what I want this space to be. However, I’m not the same person I was when I started. I didn’t expect my entire life to change on this writing journey. I mean, maybe a little? To get famous for my books is always a dream! But I never expected the rest of my life to blow up like it did.  And boy, did it blow up.

When I started my blog in 2020, I...

• was a full-time stay-at-home mom of three boys.

• lived with my fiance of 10 years in our ‘forever home.’

• was done having kids. 

• bounced back and forth between wanting to do freelance full-time or get a traditional job.

• just started to take my writing more seriously.

• desired to make a few writing friends. 

• wanted to write a book of some sort.

Fast forward to 2024, I…

• am full-time working-at-home mom of four kiddos plus four bonus kiddos. 

• living with my new partner of over 1 year in a rental home. 

• am done having kids...for real this time.

• bounce back and forth between wanting to do freelance full-time or get a traditional job. (same debate) 

• TAKE my writing more seriously. 

• have a tribe of amazing writing friends who admin for a group called Moms Who Write, who collectively released 5 anthologies (our most recent here) and have 13K members and counting from around the world. 

• drafted my first poetry collection. 

Things changed a little, so to speak.

Going through a separation, moving twice, financially going into the trenches, navigating split custody, and having another baby while learning how to be a bonus mom to four more kiddos is a lot. A lot. I dropped most of my writing projects, social media, and my poetry book. I didn’t have time or the mental energy.

Things are settling a bit now. I’m getting used to my new life and feel so blessed. Unfortunately, amid the chaos, I completely forgot about my blog. I could have been providing updates all along. Now, I just have this bullet trash dump summarizing some major life changes. I can go into some more of those later. 

But for now, I’m just excited to be here. I never really started getting in a groove. I think I was too afraid to commit to something and still a little afraid of what people thought. Now, I don't care. I've been through enough. Nothing phases me much anymore, in a good way.

I’m a big ‘new year, new me’ person, and I’m not afraid of it. I’m a Capricorn rising, after all, so this is my season to shine anyway! I haven’t quite figured out a flow of things, but I figure I’ll just start throwing some stuff up here again and see where it goes.

This post is simply to let you know I’m alive. I didn’t die. I’m still writing, planning, and dreaming. For now, thanks for still sticking around. I can’t wait to see what 2024 brings.

Happy New Year Dreamers,

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