It’s Not Goodbye…

inspiring wordSome people enter our lives at precisely the right moment to make a significant impact. Tracey Gaughran-Perez is one of those people for me; she has been an inspiration from the moment I discovered her blog, Sweetney.

Tracey’s ability to serve as a muse of sorts didn’t just have to do with her incredible gift to write or her successful blog; there were so many other aspects of Tracey that served as a catalyst for me. Tracey was my guide in settling into separated and then post-divorce life, which included fearlessly redefining myself along the way. Tracey showed me, through her success, that I could build a career I wanted for myself after the divorce. I had faith in my ability to someday be successful in building a business around things I was passionate about because this single mom did it.  Her personal blog Sweetney, collaborative blog (or blogazine) MamaPop, and her writing career at Babble’s Sweetney & Spice are great examples of her success. When I finally took the leap to create Naked Girl in a Dress, I even used Sweetney Designs for the initial look of the site.

Tracey’s ability to be a positive influence on me flowed into my love life as well. As I struggled through the dating process these last four years, Tracey has given me hope. When Charlie came into her life, Tracey showed me finding love with a man, who would also love her child completely, was possible.

Sweetney, the blog I voraciously read as I was building the courage to launch my own, is coming to an end later this month. After so many years of reading Tracey, this is a big loss. Because Tracey and Sweetney symbolize so much more for me than a blogger and her blog, it’s hard to see this one go.

But at least it’s not goodbye.



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Comments

8 responses to “It’s Not Goodbye…”

  1. Sweetney

    ARRGH. WATER, COMING OUT OF MAH EYES.

    This is just, gah, so humbling. Thank you so much Kelly. I’m so honored.

    *quiet sob*

    1. Naked Girl in a Dress

      You are great, Tracey. I look forward to reading your words, wherever they might be.

  2. Between Sweetney and The Bloggess, I’m not sure I would have survived the last couple of years. Tracey’s been such an inspiration, someone I find myself admiring (as well as, sometimes, being insanely jealous of, because, c’mon, hot baker boyfriend??! *sigh*) for so many different reasons. I’m sad that she’s shutting Sweetney down, but I understand.

    1. Naked Girl in a Dress

      It is so nice to sit from afar, watching as her life post-divorce has come together. She deserves the happiness that she has created in her life.

  3. So I guess I owe her a big thank you for inspiring you, who in return has returned the favor of guidance and hope by inspiring me. It really is a chain reaction of goodness I see.

    1. Naked Girl in a Dress

      Oh, thank you for that compliment! You are a great writer and have inspired me along the way, too. See summer serial dating posts. :)

  4. I was sorry to see the end of an era for me: that’s how I see it. I admire Sweetney and she writes with absolute assuredness in her words.

    I miss confidence like that.

    1. Naked Girl in a Dress

      Her voice is something I will miss, too. Sweetney & Spice is a nice column, but it’s different from what we have come to expect at Sweetney.