The blog I named “B Cause I Said So” and started in 2011 has been down for three years. You may not have noticed and you might not have missed it or my writing online. I’m okay with the reality of these facts. But I missed having my own space to write and hit publish.

I’ll share what I’ve learned recently about site hosting and WordPress blogs. If, like me, you haven’t saved your blog posts somewhere else, like Microsoft Word, for example, you run the risk of losing what you’ve written FOREVER.

My husband, who is also my technical advisor, suggested – most likely a decade ago – for me to write my content elsewhere, save it, and then copy and paste it into WordPress.

Did I listen? I thought I did. I seem to recall doing just that, but so far I haven’t found any of the stories I wrote.

I was slapped with a pretty stinging dose of reality earlier today when the person on the other end of the phone casually said “I can’t retrieve anything from your old blog because we only have the means to save content a few months, sorry.”

Hard swallow and a heavy sigh from me. He was casually matter-of-fact in his tone. Knowing that sixteen years of writing is gone. Not backed up. Impossible to retrieve.

I asked him if there was anyone else, perhaps higher up in the chain of command, I could speak to about this rude awakening. “Yeah, no. Again I’m sorry.”

I’m forced to own my mistake.

Was the writing profound? Groundbreaking? Probably not to most, though some of it was personal and meaningful to me. I hope many of the stories I created made people smile, think, laugh, learn new things, inspired them to try new things, places, recipes, books, music. Much of it was intentionally evergreen. Meaning it could be read and shared throughout the years.

Honestly I didn’t want to resurrect all the blog posts. There were many sponsored posts where I was paid to promote events, share about new businesses opening, highlight products, review dining and travel options. I’m sure, sadly, many of the companies and businesses I wrote about have shut down operations.

But there were dozens of personal essays I would have liked to have kept here. Holiday stories, favorite memories, stories about raising kids, vacation recommendations, silly observations, professional experience tips and commentary, recipes and their backstories.

That’s what you get and you don’t throw a fit.

Time to move on. Time marches on. Time to BACK UP MY WRITING as I move forward. Time to start anew. I hope some of you will follow along.

Do you know one of the biggest compliments you can pay a writer? Leave a comment. Share their content. Come back to read more. Sign up for a newsletter if one is offered. Share their content somewhere else. Buy their books, if they write them.

In the meantime, this site will be under construction. No hard hats necessary. New and improved? Well, MAYBE.