Five Alive

Five Years

2009

When I started, it was 2009; Ben was six years old, Logan was four and Sean was one. My first post, Love at First Sight, was an "all in" jump. I stayed up well past my bedtime, writing and creating a name for this site. It posted on September 18 at 11:43pm.

At that point, I did not have any long-term goals or expectations for the blog. I knew I wanted to write, wanted to share and for as long as I had something to write about, I would keep doing it. That was it. Not much more thought went into it.

Good Stuff
Five years later, I could not have imagined the outcomes from writing eSpeciallyBen. We have this incredible record of Ben's progress, helping us to see patterns, changes and growth. We made connections across the world with people who care about similar issues. My confidence in my writing increased and I sought out paid writing opportunities. We have become closer with distant relatives who came to know us through eSpeciallyBen. And for close family members, they were able to see me through a different lens, helping them to understand my emotions (that I have them) and everyday battles and successes.

Spreading the Word
The About.com Reader's Choice Awards from 2011 increased my readership quite a bit, and I would like to continue broadening eSpeciallyBen's audience. To do this, I need your help.

Here are a few ways for you to help:

1. Share your favorite post on Facebook with a quick intro.
2. Email this blog with a short introduction to a friend or two, or a hundred.
3. Tweet or share eSpeciallyBen on Pinterest.
4. Share this blog on your blog. I would like to do the same, just give me a heads up.
5. If you have not signed up for the email version or RSS, please do so. This ensures that you receive the post as soon as it is available.

Thank you for all your support. Whether you are a new or long time reader, I appreciate you reading about our family's journey with a really neat kid, named Ben. Thank you for the comments and emails too.

** Wherever you see "Ben" in this post, I linked one of my favorite posts to it. If you are new to eSpeciallyBen, this will give you a starting off point.