When I said we were off so many weeks ago, I didn’t mean we were offline. But then, perhaps I did. As I last pushed publish, Harry and I were stepping onto a plane to go visit possible sites for Mom 2.0 2014…possible and undisclosed sites. So just as I said I’d be writing more, we went to places I couldn’t write about. And that basically sums up the last two months.

And now, as we’re wrapping up May and another Mom 2.0 and another school year, I’m looking ahead and feeling like I’m somewhat in the same boat. Now, it’s less that I can’t type about what’s going on, and more that I don’t know where to start. So I’ll start here.

Because of my job, I read a lot of blogs, and I must say, it has become harder and harder to be inspired by what I see. This is not because there’s not a lot out there, in fact, quite the opposite.  The internet is filled with inspiration overload…and the more pinnable the better.

Now, there are so many options that it’s overwhelming…and distracting. And it’s not hard for me to get distracted anyway. It’s especially tricky right now as I work in a house that’s a work in progress.

This pretty much sums up what it looks like around here some days.

It’s a lot to live in and take in and sort through.

Plus, often, as I move through the web and the day, I find myself overcome with ideas, information, possibilities. And so forget about writing.

If I’m writing anything, it’s lists. And that leaves me wanting. And wanting isn’t doing. It’s distracting.

And as I mentioned earlier, I’m easily distracted.

So I think I have to really focus in. I have to find a pattern that works for me. Especially as we’re entering wide-open unscheduled and potentially chaotic summertime. Everything considered, my hope is that open space creates simplicity, because that is what I’m really craving right now.

And this brings me back to the crack(ed) phone in my hand, full of options. This morning, I was talking to my friend Karen, who is about to get in a car and head to Marfa. She asked me about my Marfa impressions, and I told her I mainly just have one that I can remember.

A couple of years ago, Jenny and I went to Marfa to celebrate the release of our friend John’s book Marfa Shadows. 

It was the first time I’d ever been there. And I was moved by how little there is, there. There’s little noise…little traffic…and very few options. (Not surprising that it inspires so much minimalism.) But what it lacks in quantity, it makes up in quality.

For instance, Marfa Public Radio is the only radio station that you can pick up out there. Literally. When you push scan on your rented car to flip through the stations, it just keeps going until it lands on your one option. But the option is amazing. Instead of pushing through 200 stations that play a variety of the same song, this one spot plays every song you like but forgot about, in every genre. Like the most interesting person alive’s completely random playlist. Awesome. Singular. Quality.

In other words, when you have what you need, you don’t need much.

With that focus, I’m ready to see where I’ll go next…and where this blog will go as well. In the last seven years, it’s been a variety of things, but it’s always been mine. I’ve never run ads on it, I’ve accepted less than a handful of content campaigns, and I’ve never put five seconds of effort into growing traffic here. But the reality is, there are a good number of you coming here and that makes me pretty happy. It also makes it more fun to think about what’s around the bend.

I know it starts by getting on the right road. Looking ahead and moving forward. I think I know where this is going. And it’s good to be back.

The four Marfa photos were taken by Jenny Lawson.