I realized that I never did an introduction blog post about me. So here it is; along with an announcement about some changes that are coming to the blog.
My name is Marilyn. I am the creator of this blog and Marlo & Co.
I am an aunt to a small tribe of nieces and nephews. They keep me young and love to hang out with me. I love creating memories with them.
I am a business owner of Marlo & Co. I love to celebrate stories. I identify myself as a photographer and storyteller. I love to hear other people’s stories and love to capture them. I believe that everyone has a story to tell and that their story matters. My favorite way I do this is through my Rocking Chair Story Session. This is a session where I get to sit down and listen to a senior’s story then capture it in a book that is created just for them.
My love for seniors started at a young age. My great grandparents lived with my grandparents. I look back at the memories that we made and love that I got to spend time with them as a child. Once of my memories is asking my great grandfather to hold a doll for us while we played. He hated this doll. We knew this and I think we did this to see the look of annoyance on his face.
If you have been following this blog for anytime, this blog talks about my faith and relationship with God. This is one of the most important relationships that I have in my life. I am grateful that the Creator of the universe wants to have a relationship with me through Jesus. And that I do not have to do life alone. If you want to know more about this, just ask me!
Talking about relationships, I love relationships! I have been created to be a very relational person and love to spend time with those around me. If you ever meet me in person and or work with me, most likely we will become friends. I believe we are all created for relationships and community with each other.
This is one of my favorite people, Danielle, and myself at a concert in the middle of February.
In May 2019, I retired from the social work field. I was in it for 10.5 years. I loved every moment of it. I left the social work field because of burnout. I did not realize how real and intense burnout can be until I experienced it. I am still recovering from it. I have taken time off to just rest in God and to just be. I am currently writing a blog series on my experience of burnout. Here is the link for first post in my burnout series.
I am essentially starting all over in life right now. It is a weird but exciting feeling to be doing this in my mid thirties. I get to recreate what I want my life to look like. This is something that not everyone gets the privilege to do so. Or rather are too scared to do so because of the unknown. Living in the unknown has its moments but I would not want to be in any other spot than this right now at this moment because God is teaching me valuable lessons that I will carry with me and share with others.
Fun facts about me:
Tacos are my love language!
I love red shoes and red lipstick.
Traveling and exploring new places is one of my favorite things to do.
Certified by state of Pennsylvania for floriculture and horticulture.
My first language/dialect was PA Dutch not English.
I have a hidden talent of sarcasm and silliness (only comes out when I am comfortable with you).
I bought my sister and her family a van for Christmas last year!
I am the oldest of 4 girls.
I am an introvert.
So…. here is my announcement! I am going to be making some changes to this blog. I will still write about my relationship with God and what I am learning along the way. But I am going to add more content. This content will show more of me as a whole rather than just one side of me. It will include blog posts from my work as a photographer/storyteller and some fun personal things. I will include more photos with the blog posts than I do now. I am excited to share these topics with you!
I want you to do one thing so I can meet you! Share a fun fact about yourself in the comments so I can get to know you!