I've been quiet on my blog for a little bit of time. When I thought of the idea of Lakeside Chair, two friends, myself, and you, the reader, having conversations that lead to answers about obtaining a well-lived life, I had the proper intentions. Behind the scenes, it took a couple of months of long nights after the kids went to bed to build the website and get the first pieces of content polished. I enjoyed every minute of stringing words together, and once I launched the site, I was so excited for people to read my writing. When I started social media for it, my enjoyment and original intention for the blog slowly became scarce. My discovery page on Instagram was covered in information about what captions get attention, how I should be posting seven days a week at two different times a day, what trending music to use, and if you don't have a beautiful kitchen to make videos in for aesthetic purposes, forget about it! I felt like I needed to commit to all these tips and tricks.I even put a white background on my kitchen countertop for a cooking video because I thought, how can I even stand out with all these beautiful kitchens these influencers use? No one will want to see my fixer-upper kitchen half under construction. I started posting every day, trying to figure out times that people engage with my content the most, and it suddenly became all about what got others' attention and the numbers. It became about what angle and lighting people like best. What trends do people want to hear about? This may all sound normal for the typical blogger. However, I felt my content was becoming cookie-cutter because I listened to all these big gurus on social media. I started to take on all this advice as if my life depended on it. I got overwhelmed and started editing pictures and blog pieces throughout the day while my kids were tugging me to play with them. I would nod at things my husband would say while looking at analytics on a post, and finally, I would look up to him and say, “What?” I understood I needed a schedule in place for writing and content creation. Still, when I sat down to make a schedule that lined up with the amount of content I thought I needed to have to fit the “standard” of social media, it felt disheartening and didn't align with the season of life I was in and currently am in with my small children. I get that it's important to know your audience and that it takes work to build something, but running this way didn't feel authentic to me, nor did it align with the messages I wanted to share with everyone else. It took the joy out of writing for me. I ran my creativity into the ground, trying to keep up. It was like a high school popularity contest that was next to impossible to win. My mind started fueling me with negative thoughts, “Why am I doing this anyway? With all this work and time, you aren't even getting paid. Maybe this isn't for you; you can't do the work and keep up like all these other bloggers. Maybe you are just a wimp whining over a blog.” Yup, not so nice thoughts. Once I started to hear them, I closed my laptop and decided it was time for a break. I told myself I didn't have to give in to those thoughts; I didn't have to give up and shut down the blog, but I needed a break and time to think. I knew if I was going to continue to build Lakeside Chair, I needed to pivot and reflect before I went any further. With reflection, I thought about what I wanted for my blog and online platforms to do for the readers: to provide you with connection, peace and tranquility, awe, comfort, and warmth like an old nostalgic Disney winter classic on a chilly December day. There's a great quote by one of my favorite writers, Shauna Niequist, “True hospitality is when someone leaves your home feeling better about themselves, not better about you.” I want my space online to make you feel supported; I do not want it to be another space for you to compare yourself. I don't want to write about what's trending; I want to write about stuff that has meaning, is wholesome, has soul, is raw, and allows you to take a deep breath of relief. Instead of pushing out several pieces of content in a world that feels like it's constantly bombarding us, I want to deliver quality content you can consume in bite sizes. I want to share messages, a lifestyle, and a presence encouraging people to live their REAL lives more. To offer practical information so people can use it as inspiration in their everyday lives and then get off social media. It is almost a movement to live more fully and to reclaim all the parts of life our current society has seemed to cloud. My pictures won’t always be perfect; I may fall into human error and forget a comma here and there. While I may not have white marble in my kitchen yet, I'll be proud to showcase my recipes on my laminate countertops in the meantime. I won't be showing you my skincare routine on a tripod, I won't be documenting my every single move, and I most certainly won't be linking sweaters that cost $250. You won't get phony and fake from me. It’s time to get back to the basics. We are desperately missing that in our culture. We either have people tied up in the culture or boycotting it and preaching complacency masked with labels such as minimalism and living a humble life- two things to respect but not to hide under. I believe in a middle ground, in pursuing our definitions of well-lived lives as we learn, apply, and improve to achieve our dreams, yet we can still relish our lives in every season we are in. I believe that's my place to serve and to promote the down-to-earth beauty, magic, and contentment of living your life in the real world and making the most of what's in front of you today. As I continue with Lakeside Chair, I aim to filter every piece of content through these values. I hope my experience of not giving up when something gets hard inspires you to keep going despite whatever challenges you face. Taking a break is nothing to be ashamed of; sometimes, time to reflect and redirect may be all you need.