It was June 2007. Our youngest son, Josh, age 12, would soon be joining his brothers Joe and Jeff at high school in the fall. Jim had just finished his first year of college. And we were all still euphoric after John and Renee’s wedding.

My kids were transitioning to adulthood. As their dad, I was discovering with some sadness that I was becoming less of a central figure in their lives. My purpose in life was in flux, and I didn’t know where it would land.

In those days, social media was on the rise. MySpace was king – Facebook was not yet a household word; it would not begin to dominate until the following year. I could see that my kids were exploring the various online diversions. In a bid to stay relevant, I created an account on Xanga, and entered the world of blogging.

Over the next six months, I had great fun writing posts on my Xanga account. And we shared some fun banter in the comments.

Then, we all discovered Facebook, and my blogging on Xanga ceased. A few years later, the foundering Xanga announced they were deleting all data on inactive accounts, and all evidence of the fun we had had was now gone.

But I had saved it.

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There were eight of us in the New Hampshire Sifferman clan in those days. Today, sixteen years later, we have four daughters-in-law, a beloved girlfriend-in-law, and seven (!) grandchildren – nineteen birthdays to celebrate throughout the year. And a lot of love going around.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about starting to blog again. So, this week I acquired the andysifferman.com domain, and set up this little website. I thought it would be a hoot to start by re-posting some of my old Xanga material, including reader comments.

So here it is – a snapshot of our life in 2007.

My First Blog in My Entire Life