Oh, hi there

It is utterly surreal to be back here. Gosh, I can't even remember the exact year I began using Blogger, but I do know it used to be under a different username and email address, but I deleted that one as it just had too many associations with embarrassing iterations of my former selves. 

Wow, phew. Here we are. I always seem to return to introspection and creative writing when I have a new baby, but last time round in 2020 the pandemic nearly broke me, so I stopped. I wanted to blog as a place to share thoughts and hopes with friends and loved ones, as I have done since the mid-2000s. But Facebook blocked my cross-posting, so I got frustrated and stopped. 

 I did keep a newsletter (https://tinyletter.com/labouroflove/) which I periodically updated, but I got swallowed whole by full-time work and parenting, moving country, buying a home, all the usual things. 

It is so nice to be back though. I think I'll keep updating here, and hopefully find a way for Facebook to unblock my posts again. A re-introduction - hi, I'm Amy. I'm 34 now. I have three children - Thomas was born seven weeks ago, and James almost three years ago (the pandemic baby). Anna is six and always thriving. Soon she'll be able to read this blog, I guess, which is also surreal. Everything about the meshing together of your past selves and your present self is a little bit messy, isn't it. I finally came back to the place I came from, and committed to life here. 

In the end, belonging, and home, were more important to me than I realised. 

 Welcome back.