In some ways you could see it as a marriage of sorts LOL.
I've been here longer than I've been in any relationship, other than friendships.
Well yeah, and family of course. My kids don't get rid of me that easily, hehe.
Whenever they complain about me, I always remind them that they chose their own path, and therefore have no right to a refund of any sort.
"You chose me, now deal with it." I like to say jokingly. But not really joking.
Anyway, this wasn't about my kiddos, although they've stuck with crazy Hive mom for all these years. Great job guys, you deserve a medal!
And I mean that too.
Yeah, you could see it as a marriage, definitely.
I've been married before.
Only once.
I learn quickly.
So I can weigh in on the subject.
OK, I need to stop here for a moment. I have a confession to make.
I'm an addict. It's really a problem. What am I addicted to?
It's wild. Don't judge.
It's writing.
Yup, there, I said it. Writing. Writing & Hive.
I'll explain.
5 Years baby! OK, not 6 years like some...Duh. But 5 years is pretty darn good, if you ask me. 2017 just was a better year than 2016...
Ask any crypto person.
Anyway...
I saw the HiveBuzz comment, saying Happy 5th Birthday, and I thought:
Oh, cool. I can just write a nice, short little post about my Hive Birthday.
20 minutes tops. Done. On to watching an episode of Killing Eve.
But then I start. And want to keep it short. And then I think: "MAN! 5 Years isn't nothing!"
What happened in these five years? WOW. I can't even begin to sum it all up.
In these five years I've shared some of my highest ups, and some of the lowest lows.
Memories, good and bad. The people I've seen come and go too...Wow.
Lucky for me, most of those I love the most stayed. Some even know who they are.
I've met many of you at 3 Steemfests, with the last one in Thailand being the most special one.
In two weeks, we went from Hiveans to friends to family.
At one Steemfest I cried when it was done.
At the second because it was done and because our family had just lost someone special, and far too young...My best friend's son.
Oh yeah, and I got hit by a car that year, just before the event, and had to do Steemfest with a black eye and big bruised forehead. No selfies that year...
Even though I was bruised and battered, 
Good times.
I miss both of the crews from back then, because only a few returned to Steemfest 4 (my 3rd).
Maybe I'll make it to the next IRL Hivefest in Europe, maybe not.
If it's possible to travel for us, without testing and crazy passports or restrictions, I'll consider. If it's not possible, we'll have a smaller version here.
I'm sure some would come to that.
At least one: Me! Haha.
I even did the first virtual Hivefest. But was disappointed due to my internet speed at the time. People could see me, but not hear me. The second one was right before we moved to Mexico, so I had to skip it. It's OK.
Also in these 5 years, I witnessed, and ended up in the middle of, the hostile take-over of Steemit, by no other than Justin 'Tron' Sun. Not your average 30 below 30 billionaire. No, a Sun that some communist leaders in our history would be proud of.
"Well done SUN!" They'd say from their graves...
Yeah. We were the warriors that year. We won. All of us. The community. Not the little sad centralised billionaire...
I looked around my wall of badges. It's pretty cool. I like that some people have lots of them. Personally, I don't care much for badges. The birthday and Steem/Hive fest ones are cool. And then I landed on the Community one. I really love it because it does feel like an achievement. Whether I want to admit it or not.
Although some of us unfortunately choose to stay behind...
I remember them with fondness.
The community helped move us to Hive. Yeah! EAT THAT 1 and 2 year Hivers and newbies.
Warriors-Is-US!
We've been through many awesome times, Hive, you & I.
And those peeps have been there with me, and for me, throughout some crazy shit.
Those that stuck around: I LOVE YOU ALL!!
Well, and then all of a sudden, there were games, and projects, and more...
This whole Hive thing is spinning out of control!
Sometimes I think: Will this time be mentioned later in life?
Will I sit on my garden bench, in my 70's, lovingly stroking my cat. With my best friend next to me (we made a deal, she'll get here soon too!).
Maybe 
We won't know for sure until it happens...
But I'm pretty sure those people will visit way before I turn 70 hehe.
5 Years of Great Things
In 5 years, my life has changed drastically.
Well, 6 years to be precise. But it was 5 years ago, somewhere in May when I watched and listened to Jeff Berwick 
I had just found Steemit myself online somewhere when I was scanning and researching several coins and tokens. I thought it sounded interesting. So when I heard Jeff mention it, I signed up.
And forgot about it.
Two weeks later, I received the long forgotten email 😆: Your Steemit account has been made. Those were the days haha.
Two weeks!
We were the die-hards. Those who were willing to wait for 2 weeks...
I haven't looked back since, and never regretted the decision to join.
In those six years (5 with Hive), we went from turning every penny 100 times, to traveling to different countries for a conference.
Then to moving from Ireland to Mexico.
And now, here we are...
I get involved with another new love (sorry Hive, but you're both connected) named Listnerds.
And there I met new people.
People who've been on Hive years, or even as long as I have but now I only just discover them through Listnerds. CRAZY!
It's been one HELL of a Rollercoaster ride. But the company was great. The laughs were great. The tears were real. The people ARE real. The drama was real. The stress sometimes too.
But ALL of it made it worth it.
So this is what I mean. It's not a short post, written in 20 minutes...😆
A BIG THANK YOU to all those who've stuck it out here with me, and who've supported me throughout all these years.
And of course, a big THANK YOU to those who just started out, and somehow found me. I love you all.
Let's GO next 5 years!
As an affiliate with ledger, I receive a percentage of the sales generated through this link
