Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?

I don't know where Joltin' Joe is (let's say heaven, ok?), but I sure know where I've been...and that's not been here. Life has kept me from you. Life and all the changes that have been a part of my life over the past year or so. Many of these changes or opportunities have been amazing blessings. Everything from releasing my first fabric collection to designing a second, being included in numerous books and articles, teaching both near and far, and soon, very soon, you'll see me on Craftsy.com leading you through all the steps that I use to create my hand dyed and patterned fabrics. And that's not even it. That's just the professional stuff. In the past year I've run 8 races that were half marathon distance or above, discovered trail running(which I totally love, love), competed in my first triathlon, and swum from Alcatraz across the San Francisco Bay to the shore at Aquatics Park. I've watched my girls grow and blossom and had the joy of watching my middle one graduate from high school and, even as we speak, register for her first college classes. There have been many sweet moments over the past few moments and, considering that I'm signed up for another race this weekend, hopefully many more to come.
But, and this is the reason behind my spotty presence here over the past months, much of it has been in response to the biggest life change I've ever experienced, divorce.
This space hasn't exactly been confessional in the past, but, I can't guarantee that will be the case in the future. I spent 20 years pretty convinced that I had at least a clue of what tomorrow would bring and have only recently learned the true meaning of the Yiddish saying, " Mann troach, Gott lauch, " (Man plans, God laughs).
But, before you flood me with sympathy, know that this too is a blessing. And, I say that not because I read it as an affirmation on Facebook, though I did, but because it's true. You don't know in which direction you'll grow or what you might try until something, and, sadly, it usually has to be something big, pushes you to rediscover who you are and what you want. By the way, another new discovery for me: I don't have who I am or what I want completely figured out and I may never and that too is a blessing.
So, with that being said, what can you expect from me here over the next few months? Hmm? I'm not absolutely sure, but I think it will have to include more of me than I've let you in on before, more words, but, hopefully, not too many fewer images and, probably, a few surprises. Surprises for both of us.
To celebrate that, I've changed my blog header and will probably change it again and I'm uploading a picture that was taken of me at a recent trail race. It's not a pretty picture. I'm hot and dirty and sweaty, but, when I posted it to my Facebook page, a friend commented that I look like the woman I was always meant to be. So, here it is. Here I am.

For those of you wondering, the picture was taken at a trail race at Reveille Ranch in June. I had just passed one of the aid station and was eating a sandwich. Table manners were not a big consideration at that point.