It was just an ordinary day. But before the sun would rise the next morning, nothing for me would ever be the same.

I don’t want to go into the details. I just want to give an overview of why the site has been on hold for most of the year.

Tragedy suddenly and unexpectedly strikes.

Everything was normal. The daily routine was going along as usual. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. I had no idea of the traumatic event that would come seemingly from out of nowhere.

Tragedy can happen at any time. It’s easy to think that it won’t. But it can and it does. And it can happen without warning. A lack of warning makes it seem that much worse.

In a matter of minutes, without warning, my life was changed forever. It almost didn’t seem to be real. Then, as if I’d been hit by lightning, I plunged into a severe state of shock along with strong doses of denial and despair.

The shock and intense grief would be long lasting. In search of relief, I would attempt to pursue normal-ish activities, including the development of new content for All About BEARDS. I made some progress on this for a little while, but many more unexpected troubles were brewing.

Before long, I started to experience an onslaught of calamity upon calamity, setback upon setback. I was still in mourning and began to be hit with big troubles and daunting challenges at a rate and on a scale I could not have imagined. Once this sequence got underway, I had to set aside all thoughts about the website.

Next up was the escalation phase during which the severity of everything just kept getting worse and worse, to the point where I could barely believe that all of this was really happening. But it was.

At times, I didn’t think that I would make it through all this. Every aspect of my identity and being was seriously challenged. However, with loving support from family and true friends along with my faith in God, I was able to press forward and finally experience a breakthrough. From that point, I began my recovery phase. Thanks be to God.

Get up. Keep going forward.

So, I got up. I am back on my feet, ready to get to a new normal. However, the recovery process has been slower and more difficult than I expected. Nevertheless, I am thankful with all my heart.

Those nearest to me encourage and remind me to just keep putting one foot in front of the other, to keep moving forward one step at a time.

Now it’s time for me to get back to All About BEARDS again. I’ve finally come up for air and am ready to get going again. I am eager to start rolling out the RETRO Beards project that I announced early in the year. And I will get back to producing other content for the site as well. I can’t guarantee the speed of production, especially at first. I still have a lot of other deferred work items that I have to handle. But I will be putting up new content more and more as things get more back to “normal”.

Appreciate the calm waters.

Remind yourself daily to appreciate good times and calm waters. Appreciate your family and friends every day. Be kind to yourself and to others. Remember that showing kindness to others is free.

Your good times can always be interrupted by powerful storms. Do your best to be ready for them.

The arduous journey I’ve been on since late last year has given me many hard lessons. However, many developments along the way have been true blessings and some have been nothing short of miraculous. For all these things I am thankful. I’m also thankful for family and true friends as well as everyone else who helped get me through this.

Regarding All About BEARDS, I am thankful for the opportunity to now resume promoting beards to all. Grow your beards in peace and in health. Encourage others to do the same.

Take care, be well, and be happy. Thanks be to God.

Steven