About me

November 13, 2019

An update to the About Me post below:

Life hasn’t changed much, but I am happy to note that as of this year, I am the proud grandmother of four — three boys and one girl.

I still live in Connecticut. I still take photos. And I still try to post to this blog when I have something that needs to be said. 

February 21, 2018

The world changes. And so do we. Again.

Last year my husband and I divorced after 37 years of marriage. Hope was the only thing that kept me in the house, but when that dried up and blew away, I left too.

Today, I live by myself in a condo in Groton, CT. I’m semi-retired and, as others say, figuring out my “new normal.” As a working mom and wife, I had always put others first, and now I’ve been trying to shape a life around my wants and needs. Selfish? Maybe. But for far too long, I tried to make someone happy who wasn’t happy with himself, his choices or me.

I was used to doing almost everything by myself, so this new life feels and looks pretty familiar. I’m excited to explore more Connecticut roads and can’t wait for nicer weather to walk new trails and ride new bike paths. I am closer to the beaches and shoreline — and that makes me happy too.

Best of all, more time to write and travel and walk and bicycle and read and listen to music and to spend time with my family and friends and grandchildren. Not a negative word to be heard!

Life is good.

September 11, 2016

I began this blog some seven (?) years ago. (I’m too lazy to check to be exact.) As I read the words below, I realize how much has changed and continues to change in my life.

I am now the grandmother of two little boys, named Charlie and Clark. I am blessed to live near both of my daughters and their families so that I get to see them and babysit for the boys often. Every time I visit, they are doing something new, so that is fun and interesting.

As I write this, my husband and I are in the middle of mediation discussions to end our marriage of 37 years. I’m not sure who knows this yet (or who will drop by this page to read this and not let me know), so I apologize if you are family or close friends, who are learning about this for the first time. Out of respect for what we once had, I can only say that my path is now entirely up to me. And I am determined that it will be filled with optimism and hope, family and friends, new experiences and travel.

With that said, one thing hasn’t changed — my love for writing, photography and reading. However, in the past few years I had put my writing on the shelf. So, I hope you’ll see more writing in the months ahead, along with new photos and some comments about what I’m reading.

Enough — check out my new posts!

Julia

My first Welcome post from some seven years ago:

I’ve lived on the East Coast for three decades. I love Rhode Island’s beautiful coast and quirky ways, but I’m still deeply rooted to the Midwest and have great respect for its people.

As a child, I was most at home with a pencil in my hand, whether writing or drawing — today it’s a laptop and a camera.

Lots of ideas stumble around inside my head, which sometimes step onto paper. I thought I’d collect the published ones here and add a few colorful images to brighten it up. I love color.

For the past year I’ve set a goal to post at least once a week. That goal — along with StumbleUpon hits — has helped to rev up the blog stats and my desire to keep this site going. It is interesting to realize that thousands around the world have dropped in here semi-randomly — and to know that a writer/teacher somewhere on the West Coast is now using one of my poems in her classes to illustrate poems about place.

If you connect to the words or images, I’d love to hear about it — or share something you’ve written. In the past year I haven’t had a lot of posted comments, just enough to keep me going. In the end, it’s simply satisfying to unclutter my head and to stack it here in a corner of the universe.

Enough.

Julia Meylor Simpson