5th Blogiversary!

On By theunexpectedeveraftersIn Author: Jessica, Author: Wendi

This month we celebrate our fifth blogiversary of the Unexpected Ever Afters! We are thrilled to mark this milestone and we wanted to take this opportunity to share our “5 Top 5 for Our 5th! ” Thanks for joining us on our journey.

1. 5 of our favorite posts

Jessica

  1. The Little Things
  2. I am a Writer
  3. Find Your Spider Spray
  4. Be the Person you Want to Be: A Day in the Life of a Social Worker
  5. Rests: Life Lessons from a Toddler

Wendi 

  1. Making a Difference Through Love
  2. “Both” 
  3. All That Still Is
  4. The Mystery of New Life 
  5. Grace as Breath 

2. 5 of each other’s posts

Jessica

  1. We are All Still in Training
  2. Ripples of Good
  3. The Beauty of Reality
  4. You are Never “Just A”
  5. “Both”

Wendi

  1. Just Do the Best You Can – A Bad Day in Parenting
  2. Finding Self-Compassion Through Truth
  3. Find Your Spider Spray
  4. Waves of Change
  5. Be in the Now 

3. 5 favorite reasons to write

Jessica

  1. Writing, this blog in particular, has strengthened my friendship and connection with Wendi, as my co-author, and with our readers.
  2. The opportunity to use creativity to write, dream, and share.
  3. It helps me continue to learn and grow as a writer and as a person.
  4. Sharing my stories helps me remember life and the ups and downs of adulthood and parenting young kids.
  5. Writing is something I do for myself, something that fills my self-care bucket.

Wendi

  1. I find writing to be cathartic; it’s a way to get thoughts out of my head and re-reading them helps me to process various experiences. 
  2. Writing has always been one of my favorite creative outlets. 
  3. I enjoy having a record of my past journeys, thoughts, moments, and experiences. 
  4. Receiving feedback that a post provided comfort or encouragement.
  5. Getting to connect with Jessica on our mutual love of writing.

4. 5 hopes for the future of writing

Jessica

  1. I always hope that my posts connect with the right person at the right time.
  2. I am excited to continue to learn and become a stronger writer.
  3. I am hopeful that writing will continue to be fun and something I look forward to in my schedule.
  4. I hope our blog continues to grow and expand its reach. 
  5. I hope that we continue to celebrate milestones, like our 5th blogiversary, for years to come!

Wendi

  1. That we celebrate our 10th blogiversary! 
  2. I also hope that we continue to connect with other writers and readers. 
  3. Of course, I sincerely hope that possible topics for posts are continually brought to mind in order to continue the writing journey…
  4. I hope that one day my kids enjoy reading about my past experiences.
  5. And one of my main hopes is that someone stumbles across one of our posts and finds comfort knowing they are not alone on life’s unexpected journeys. 

5. 5 words of encouragement to fellow writers

Jessica

  1. Write because you enjoy writing! Feedback from others can come and go, which is when that enjoyment of writing really needs to carry you through.
  2. Be honest and true to yourself in your writing.  It is easy to want to write what you think someone wants to hear, but real connection and impact is found in honesty.
  3. Use some caution when writing about others, be mindful of their confidentiality, especially kids.  Think about how they will be impacted by information shared about them when they are older. 
  4. Sometimes you won’t have anything to write about, this is totally normal and doesn’t mean that you are not supposed to be a writer
  5. Find a friend to write with and encourage and support each other! It is the best way to learn and grow as a writer and to find support in the harder writing times.

Wendi

  1. Find a trusted friend to share your writing with – having Jessica keep me accountable and bounce ideas off of has been a major reason why I’ve been able to continue writing for five years. Along that same line, be open to feedback – having someone else’s perspective on wording can really improve your writing. 
  2. Have a place (either in a notebook or computer document) where you can write down thoughts, memories, reflections, or observations that seem funny, insightful, encouraging, relatable, entertaining, or ordinary – these drafts might prove useful to future stories.
  3. I know every writer says this but try writing even just a little bit on a regular basis – maybe it’s not a daily practice but more like a weekly habit, something that establishes a routine of writing.
  4. But also, don’t be afraid to take a break from writing – sometimes the best way to unlock writer’s block is to take a step away and center on a rejuvenating activity before returning to tackle a piece.
  5. Be open to completely changing a piece – sometimes you’ll start writing and think things will turn out one way and they actually go a completely different direction. Keep parts of the original writing, though, as they might be helpful for a future post. 

Thank you again for joining us on the Unexpected Ever Afters journey and for the encouragement and conversation through the years! As you join us in our 6th year you may notice our post schedule will be a little different.  You can expect a post from Wendi or Jessica on the 1st Monday of every month.  The 3rd Monday of the month will be held for guest posts, if you are interested in sharing your writing on our page, please reach out! 

Here’s to continuing to write, read, and connect with each other! Cheers to 5 years!

~Wendi & Jessica

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