The time has come to say goodbye ...

After nearly 2 years, more than 200 posts and a lot of thought, Paul and I have decided to bring e-Claire to a close. Our reason is simple: it's time for Claire's life to be private. While I'll always share photos and stories of Claire with family and friends, we feel it's time to do this is a more private manner than the Web.

A big factor in making this decision is that I tend to be a frequent blogger, sharing a lot of information and many photos. I do so partly because I'm turning these posts into books and I'd like the books to be as "complete" as I can imagine. However, as Claire grows older, it seems less appropriate to share this in a public forum. We contemplated simply posting to our blog less often or with less information but I know I'd then want to tell the full story or make additional entries elsewhere, and as a result, I'd be managing two entities which is too much for me. I also know that if I were to try to do both - a blog and a private book - one or both things would be incomplete or disjointed. To my orderly self, that would be unacceptable.

It was never my intention to even blog as long as I have; I found, however, that I really enjoyed it and that it was less time-consuming for me than the traditional scrapbooking I used to do. I also really appreciated that blogging enabled family and friends to feel as if they really know Claire even if they do not see her very often in person. And on a selfish note, I came to love the interaction I had through blogging with our travel mates, family and friends. For someone who loved the social aspect of working in an office, I think I would have really missed work and felt isolated if I did not have our blog and those of our friends to follow. You all truly helped me in my transition to a stay-at-home mom.

For our friends and travel mates who continue to blog, please know that we fully support - and LOVE - your continued blogging. Our decision to cease posting on e-Claire is based on our own circumstances and, as afore-mentioned, my obsessive-compulsive blogging tendencies.

While I still have a voice on Blogger, I want to thank everyone who has visited e-Claire, either as a regular or as a once-in-a-while observer. We very much appreciate your friendship, support and love for our daughter. All the best,

Monica, Paul and Claire