November 9

I have come to a hard decision. You know what those words mean by now. We've read them on other blogs, and they pretty much mean the same thing. The blog has an expiration date.

The results of my recent heart testing were a bit of a wakeup call for me. They weren't bad, per se, but they weren't great, either. I have a very minor case of mitral valve prolapse, which also means a small murmur. Most likely it is entirely harmless. However, it made me realize that I need to reduce some of my extracurricular activities. I spread myself very thin these days, and need to take better care of myself.

This blog has been a very wonderful form of therapy for me when I needed it most. I was able to put down into words what I was feeling, and work through a lot of hurt and anger. It was also a great place to celebrate the happy stuff. I'm glad you have all been here to help me through it all.

November 9 is when my membership to Typepad expires. I am sad to say I will not be renewing at that time, unless something HUGE happens. Since there is an expiration date for the blog, let's have fun with it, shall we?

Most likely, the topics will be light, probably have nothing to do with infertility or miscarriages. It is just something that is no longer ever-present in my mind these days. While that's a good thing, it makes for sometimes boring reading. I apologize for that.

So let the fun begin.

Comments

[bRaD]

Ugh! I'll miss it!

[Kristin]

I'll miss you but lets have fun until then.

[Sue Ann]

What! The world will not be same with you! You can always switch it and move it over... ;-) Or just concentrating on other things is good too...

[Plainmama]

Oh, I'm sad to hear that. Obviously, I completely get it, but I have to say I will miss you and your words.

Okay, now let's get this fucking "going away" party started!

[Natalee]

Ok, let's party! Who's got booze?!

[Angela]

Sadness :( I've been reading a long time and you'll be missed.

I'm with Natalee ... pass the liquor, por favor!!

[PiquantMolly]

I'll be reading to the very end!

['Tree']

Noooo...say it isn't so! I'm going to miss you - you're one of my favorites!

[serina]

I am sorry to hear this, Ollie!
We will miss you and Brad and especially Lauren.
You must do what you think is best, though.

[Donna]

You do have a lot on your plate, you will be missed in Bloglandia but I will still have you on BE so neener-neener-neener. Hey, I never said I was mature.

[Elaine]

You will be missed.

This of course is your decision to make and I respect it. But I just want to say that I have a related heart condition -- aortic regurgitation -- and I have a full time job, scuba dive, write outside the job and do a lot of things. I get it monitored once a year. It's not a big deal. It was a huge shock for me when I was diagnosed with it and I'd even been operated on for a heart defect as a child, so it wasn't as if EKGs and cardiologists were new to me.

All I'm saying is, this kind of condition can be a wake-up call, but it doesn't really affect your life that much. Since you have a job and a toddler you're busy and might well not want to continue blogging, but the heart issue in the mix is small. I guess that's all I want to say. If that makes sense. It's a shock when you're diagnosed and a nuisance to watch, but not that big a deal overall.

[Betty M]

I'm sorry that there are health issues with your heart nd sorry that you will stop blogging in 8 months or so but will be wishing you well up to then and beyond!

[Melina]

I'll miss you. I'm so glad you have a beautiful baby. I'm sorry to hear about the heart issue.

[erinberry]

I have mitral valve prolapse too, finally diagnosed at age 19 or 20. It's quite common to experience panic attacks with it; I did for many years. You might want to check out this site: http://www.mitralvalveprolapse.com/

I've enjoyed reading your blog over the last several years. Good luck to you, and I'm so glad your story included parenthood!