Not Alone Series Anniversary

The awesome Jen at Jumping in Puddles and Morgan at Follow and Believe have been hosting the Not Alone Series for one whole year! So today in honor of this anniversary, participants are sharing what we've learned through this series.

Wow. The fact that these ladies have been linking up encouragement for a whole year is pretty amazing. I started participating back in January {read my first post here}, and I have to say, each Tuesday I've looked forward to a new topic and reading others' posts.

I think my favorite part of this link-up is the community, or the "support group," as Morgan jokingly {half-jokingly?} called it at the very beginning. I love that we have each other in this blogging world full of married homemakers and mommy bloggers.

I love that we find a sense of solidarity as we discuss various aspects of singlehood. I love that we can freely say/type, "you know what? I'm sick of ____" or "I really wish ____" or "For the love of Pete, if he would just _____" and we all know what we're all feeling and thinking.

I love our Facebook group and how we get really real and down and dirty and into the nitty gritties. And we find, wonder of wonders, that we are truly not alone. I know that's the name of the series and it should be obvious, but at first, it's strange and I wondered if it was real.

It's meeting someone and a deep topic comes up and you share your fears and this stranger says, "Oh, I know exactly how you feel," and you wonder, do you really? And through this series, I've learned the answer: yes, really. We all really know how we're feeling, what we're facing, and what our brains are thinking. It's not just that we've been there; we are there.

And while we're relating to one another, we're also making friends! We're getting new perspectives on all aspects of life. We're learning more about others and ourselves as we go through this series.  I can't tell you how many times I've sat down to write one of these posts but wanted to read someone else's first, just to make sure, once more, that I'm really not alone in this. And every time, the wonderful ladies in this link-up are tracking right along with me, and it's beautiful.

So what I've learned, really, though this wonderful series, is that there are some fantastic women in this world who are facing the same experiences I am and are handling it with grace, and I know that if they can face their situations with a heart full of trust and peace, then I can, too. Thank you so much, Jen and Morgan, for this community in the blogging world. This is a gift, and I'm grateful.

P.S. Some of my favorite topics from NAS are: Another Engagement, What I Know Now, and Dating Dos and Don'ts.
And in case you get sick of my posts, here are some of my faves from other NAS-ers: Rachel's post on friends, Dahlia's post about marriage, and Laura's post on marriage.