And so it begins....

I set up this account in January. Yes, January. I've procrastinated on this for 3/4 of a year---long enough to gestate a human child...and in fact, that is exactly what I've been doing. I wrote and re-wrote this opening post a million times, and never had the nerve to publish. I realized that if I don't do it before having this baby, its extremely likely never to happen.

As an introduction, I'll simply start with the Ws:
Who: Ana (not my real name). mid-30s, married, mother of a 21 month old son with another boy on the way and of course my first baby--a 45-lb mutt that rarely barks but sheds more than I think is reasonable. I am a full-time working professional in academic science and healthcare employed at a big-name university on the east coast.

What: Really, anything that's on my mind. At this point, I don't have a "theme" or a "gimmick" for this space, but I'm willing to go with the flow and see if I settle on something. Topics I'll likely touch on include: parenting, academics, marriage, and infertility. Sorry but you won't see any pictures of my family. This is going to be as anonymous as I can make it, so that I can be open and honest in my writing and tackle the tough topics.

Why: I'll get more into this in a subsequent post (gotta save up something!), but in a nutshell...
1)I wanted a space to process the thoughts and emotions involved with finally (and frighteningly) feeling like I have arrived at my adult life.
2)I've found a lot of support over the past few years in the blogging community---I read and comment on quite a few sites regularly and would love to deepen the connections by really adding my own voice (whether or not anyone is listening!)

Yes, I skipped some Ws.

Here's another one, in case there is anyone actually reading....

Welcome!