Dear Diary

When I was about 6 or 7 years old, I received my first diary.  It was exactly what you would expect a diary for a 7 year old would be complete with a lock and key.  I loved that thing.  Wrote all my deepest, darkest secrets in it.  Well, as dark as a 7 year olds secrets can get!  I still have that diary and the many that came after it - only as I aged, they became journals.  I always found solace in words.  Writing always helped me get things off my chest whether good things or not so good things.

In recent years, this blog has become my diary.  I started it right after we got married to document our life together as Mangiaracina's for friends and family, but really, it was a way for me to find solace in words again and help me get things off my chest - both good and not so good.  I love looking back on all that we have experienced.  Our honeymoon.  Moving from NY to VA.  Purchasing our first home.  Decorating and renovating said home.  Welcoming James into the world.  Holidays. Vacations.  A baby brother.  This small piece of the massive inter web has been a place for me to share my simple story with the world and is more valuable than I ever thought it could be.

I love that I kept this record of our life and am feeling really sad that I've stopped writing in recent months.  Sure - life is much busier now.  But that just means there is much more to write about!  I still plan to live in the moment but I want to be able to look back, 5 years from now, and remember all the great living we did.

We're baaaaaackkk! :)