Goodbye to Betty?

I’d like to introduce you to the real “Atomic Betty.” (A post for those of you who have followed Atomic Betty’s blog.)

Over a decade ago, I started a bunch of blogs. One launched a political career for me. Go figure. One of the others, which is still surviving, became my own personal form of therapy. It is called Atomic Betty’s.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. Every single post in Atomic Betty was basically me preaching to myself. Oh sure, it may have looked like I was writing it for you, and in a way I was, but it was mostly telling me what I know I needed to hear. It always sounded like I was writing from a place of authority, but in truth, it was me writing from a place of insecurity, sometimes pain or fear, and sometimes even joy and celebration as I tackled all of the life lessons coming at me like a big juicy bug at night on the highway going about 80 miles per hour.

I created the best version of what I wanted to be in my head and I called her “Atomic Betty.” Becoming Betty was my ultimate goal because she conjured up all the bad-ass “Bettys” of days past for me.

I knew I was capable of becoming a strong, independent, woman free from control and abuse. I knew that was my truest self. Can you ever imagine the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, or Lauren Bacall being a doormat? I can’t imagine a single one of them ever uttering the words, “I don’t know, where do you want to eat?” I don’t think so. Whatever it was that they had, I wanted it. Every single Atomic Betty post moved me closer to what I wanted to become.

Now, I do recognize the irony of choosing a pseudonym for my truest self and that’s what leads us here today. As it turns out, I’m just Donlyn and Atomic Betty is me and I am she and we are…oh, you get it. We’ve come full circle. All those lessons that I’ve learned the hard way I’ve come to realize have value. (Which, has anyone ever said they’ve learned a lesson the easy way? Again, I don’t think so.)

I have plans. Big ones. And they are partially beginning right here on my new site.

I’m so unbelievably grateful to all of you who have read Betty over the years and even more so to those who have reached out and told me how it inspired or helped you in some way. You’ll never know how much that meant to me because suddenly, I didn’t feel alone in my struggles. Without you knowing it, we became fellow travelers and I want to continue on this self-transformation journey with you.

This is life. It’s short, messy, terrifying, and so damned wonderful. You truly were meant for the best life you could possibly imagine. Even in times of great turmoil. Wait, ESPECIALLY in times of great turmoil.

This isn’t goodbye to Betty. Betty lives on in all of us every time we choose to have the moxie to move us in the direction of our dreams. It’s transforming your life from where you are to where you are meant to be. That’s exactly what this new site is all about. Having the courage to live the life you want!

The Atomic Betty site will remain and I find it so beautiful that the final post was that of a true Betty that I learned so much from and who I just recently lost to cancer. My dear friend, Sherry. I like that she will always remain at the top of the page.

Now, new content will appear solely on justdonlyn.com. I’m so excited for all I have planned that I can’t wait for you to see all that is coming next.

So, welcome to my new world and in a little bit of tribute to the past. I’d love to leave you with a couple of my favorite Atomic Betty posts. Writing them always felt like an out of body experience anyway. These were two of my favorites. Please ignore the fact that I hadn’t come to the oxford comma team just yet. Or, the “only one space between sentences” team. I’m there now as living proof people can grow and change.

Did I tell you how happy I am that you are here?

Atomic Betty Post: Life Lessons from a Stray Cat

Atomic Betty Post: ‘Delicious Ambiguity’