Those of you who have taken a break from blogging know how awkward your first attempt at a post can be…..it’s not really writer’s block, it’s as if the medium has changed in your mind. In dealing with a family estate in upstate New York for the past month, there are so many intense memories, visuals that words can’t possibly capture, and surreal moments, that they belong in a novel, not on a blog.
Having said that, perhaps I’ll try to capture some of the more powerful images over the next couple of months.
Dismantling, selling, tossing and redistributing 60 years of your parents lives has to be one of the most daunting things that any of us go through. Like death and divorce, yet unlike these powerful and confusing parting rites of passage, closing the chapter on your parents lives is an experience that constantly weaves in treasure after treasure, each one explaining a difference nuance……the why behind the skip in your walk or intonation in your voice, and the trigger behind so many of your life decisions.
You’ll come across an old letter written from one relative to another, remnants from several wars gone by, a Daguerreotype photograph, a dish that belonged to your great grandmother or the shirt that your grandfather wore for thirty years……….visuals that bring on all of your senses and capture the smells, sounds and voices from a 1940s movie, only every character in that movie is somehow attached to your heritage. And then, for a moment — a very long moment — time stands still.
During this stillness, there is no sadness, no tears, and no pain…..it’s a blissful skip back into childhood, where the world around you represents a colorful rainbow and the image on your canvas is viewed through a pair of innocent eyes that haven’t yet been witness to the detached world. Oh detached world.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
