There was an elaborate idea to write a commemoration story on the actual anniversary of my first post but then the nice folks at WordPress reminded me in a lovely message that today is the anniversary date of when I actually joined the blogosphere despite it being another month before I could finally be able to hit that scary “PUBLISH” button.

I had wanted to start a blog for a few years but couldn’t wrap my head around how to go about it and was inspired by my good friend, Anna who actually has two blogs (be sure to check out this one if you ever need a groovy hip place to stay in when you’re in Vail, CO-that condo is fabulous). We talked about our mutual desire to start a blog for months though little did I know she’d already launched DesignPunk. We both agreed that snarky comments had the potential to crush your spirit (you’d be surprised how cruel people can be in their comments on design blogs) and the fear factor was more than just a figment of our imagination. Like her, I sooooo wanted to launch a cool design blog. Anna and I share similar tastes when it comes to design, but then reality appeared, tapped me on the shoulder and pointed out that (a) my design sense actually sucks and (b) I have no DIY abilities beyond wielding a semi-mean paintbrush-not exactly the kind of treasure trove needed for that kind of blog. Talk about humbling. But I still couldn’t shake the idea that I really wanted to be part of Blogville; I knew there were things to say, even though there was no demonstrable design skills to share. Sigh. 🙁

And then it hit me, the one thing that I possibly could blog about was right at the end of the leash. Sam became the inspiration behind this blog–he’s goofy, sweet and the perfect companion to bring smiles to people, sick or well and with my desire to make a difference in people’s lives, I got this idea that I could blog about our experiences as a pet therapy team. I still had that whole ‘gee, have no clue how to set this thing up’ minor detail going on, but I just decided to wing it. There are what, 20 million + blogs out there, surely it couldn’t be too hard. Luckily, the stars aligned themselves and a college near the ‘ranch’ offered an abbreviated class on social media for neophytes like me and I enthusiastically signed up. I was paired with a freshly scrubbed young college student who gleefully told me it would be a piece of cake and we could knock out a blog in no time. Yay! I thought. Little did I know that an accident and injury would prevent her from completing the project with me which had barely begun to be set up. So with fear in my heart, I plunged on in the dark. I think it took me two weeks before I could even decide on a theme and that was with non-stop thinking about it. I tried several out, couldn’t decide on a final one and nearly threw up my hands in despair and quit. Still I couldn’t shake that nagging desire to be part of this amazing community of incredibly talented people, adorable pooches, kitties, dare I say even kangaroos. 🙂 I wish I could list every single one of you here; you have all been so remarkably welcoming, supportive and kind to us and have given me far more than I could have possibly imagined.

Boy, am I happy I didn’t give up. A trip to the bookstore and countless hours of reading WordPress for Dummies (over and over) later, I played around and practiced (over and over) trying to set it all up (still not sure everything is the way it should be/could be, but I’m dealing with those details when they pop up and tweaking it all the time). I remember crying, moaning and groaning but I kept plugging away determined not to let it get the best of me. I figured, sheesh, how hard can it be? I mean, I work for lawyers for crying out loud and have managed to survive them all these years, surely I can figure this out. There were some nights and weekends where I thought I’d either set my hair on fire, slit my wrists or throw the laptop away. Those were some dark times I’ll admit, when I was convinced that I’d never make it but ultimately after taking lots of little bitty, tiny, baby steps, came to realize this dream. And while that was hard enough in and of itself, it was nothing compared to actually publishing that first post of which I agonized over for weeks. I still l suffer from ‘publishing anxiety” and figure that will probably never go away, as it’s more than likely an ongoing continual process, right?

But then you dear readers rescued me. At first only friends and family were bullied invited to take a look. Then lo and behold, you started checking us out. Can I just say, I. was. over. the. moon. with my first ‘like’ and beyond giddy with the first comment? That day was so incredibly exciting ad special. And since then I have been touched and buoyed by your support, cleverness, unfettered brilliant humor and welcoming over this past year. How can I ever repay your generous spirit of community, your pithy observations, or the way you can always make me smile and reflect on issues surrounding our mutual passion about our fur babies? I shall always be in your debt. Thank you from the bottom of my heart–you made the first year totally ‘pawsome.’ Here’s to more laughs and heartfelt posts from both sides of the keyboard. I know I look forward to reading all of your posts and hope you’ll continue to drop by and see ours.

Live, love, bark! <3