When the kids were born four years ago (seriously?), it tipped my world upside down, you know, the way a rollercoaster will. Sure, it makes everything harder and weird, and you might lose all the contents of your purse while in the loop-the-loop and there may or may not be vomit but you're still having fun. The decision to share the kids with our readers was one that was a mix of a mother's natural desire to yammer about her own kids and a little self-preservation. I mean, it meant that as I was parenting, I was technically doing research for my writing. Which means every diaper I changed was suddenly 'on the clock' as it were. Which made me feel better about my clock being so messed up.

I was so lucky to be at The Maine Edge when they were born. So lucky to have a boss that let me upend my workflow, work remotely, call-in to meetings, and basically become a ninja-employee for weeks or months at a time. I can't remember all of it because that first year the kids were home was a blurry whirlwind. Sometimes I'll look around and remember what I was like back then forgetful, disorganized, and borderline insane and wonder how I remained not only employed but not disinherited by friends and family. Above all, people were forgiving and understanding when I seemed to leave my brain at the bottom of the toybox. And if there were those who grumbled about it, they did it out of earshot which is a kindness I still appreciate.

In a world where many women struggle to find balance, it was nice to feel like I could still contribute and have the chance to spend a lot of incredibly valuable time with my kids. That's a treasure that not everyone gets to have and I value it. I will always value it.

I was also lucky that people seemed to actually like the column enough to actually write me and tell me that they enjoyed it. This is something that I rarely experienced as a writer. Often, the only time you'll hear from someone is when you've stuck your foot in something and you have to apologize or run a correction. Having people take time out of their day to tell me they liked my ramblings meant a lot. Still means a lot.

And I plan to keep rambling. If you do enjoy what I write, you can follow me over at www.ThreeNewEnglands.com. I'll be reprinting the old columns for giggles, but also following up with new stories. Because, even after all this time, I don't know when to stop talking about them.

I'm sure they'll tell me soon enough.