Beyond the fifth wall ￼

Special thanks once again to rojie for today’s prompt. if you haven’t done so already, definitely check out her blog justrojie.com.

Write about a time when your two worlds collided

I suppose I’m breaking the rules a little bit here, but I actually wrote about a time when my two worlds collided about nine days ago in a post titled The Fifth Wall.

The Fifth Wall

It was going to happen eventually

I didn’t hand her a link or sit her down for a big reveal—the algorithm served up a podcast clip on TikTok, she recognized a generated picture of my van, heard my voice, and put two and two together.

To make a long story short, Sierra found out about the podcast. It wasn’t very hard for her to do—just because of the way digital footprints, IP addresses, and other computer mumbo jumbo work. I guess if I really wanted to keep my personal life and my public life completely separate, I would’ve set up my accounts with a burner number. My point is: this was bound to happen eventually.

I was bracing myself for an earthquake. I thought she was going to go ballistic. But instead, the first thing she told me was that she loved me, and that she thought it took a lot of courage to put my life out there like this. Talk about sticking the landing. It reminded me of that classic Dr. Seuss line: “Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”

Here we are, roughly ten days later, and my world hasn’t stopped spinning. Sierra and I are still together. In fact, she’s actually a bigger fan of the podcast than the blog—probably just because she prefers listening on the go rather than sitting down to read. I get it. But while she’s gleaned a lot about me just from listening, podcasting is barely scratching the surface. I don’t think she fully realizes the sheer volume of insight into my brain waiting for her if she ever decides to archive-binge fourteen years of blog entries.

If our roles were reversed, I’d probably feel a slight invasion of privacy, but honestly? I’d be fascinated to read a direct look inside her head. Plus, I’d probably be a little flattered.

I’m still pretty amazed by how well she took everything. I even warned her, “I talk about everything on here. I talk about you.” She remained completely unfazed.

That said, I’d be lying if I said knowing she’s out there hasn’t shifted things slightly. I don’t write directly to her, and I’ve never been one to broadcast someone’s private health history or personal business anyway. But these days, whenever I write a post that touches on the two of us, I definitely catch myself going over the words with a much finer comb.

Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Having crossed the 1,000-day milestone, I’m now charting the territory beyond. The mission remains the same: No glitz. Just the work. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint and the ‘Tricorder’ perspective behind the rebuild.

Today’s post is inspired by the WordPress Daily Prompt. While I’ve taken the topic in my own direction for the Road beyond 1,000 Days, you can find more responses to today’s prompt HERE.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like 👍, comment and subscribe below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media and check out my recent posts!

The article “beyond the fifth wall“ first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.

Rebuilding Rob