Today I noticed my followers rolled over the 800 mark. While I know not all those followers are ‘real’ there are many who are faithful readers and commenters. It is humbling to share my thoughts and be heard and responded to in this great void of silence brought on by the pandemic we are living through. Never in my lifetime has the entire world experienced such a devastating event simultaneously. I hope it might reflect a deeper understanding of our shared humanity.
I thank you. For your readership, your comments, and your engaging and thoughtful posts as well. I am proud to be a part of a community that enriches my life in so many ways.
I wrote a long post this morning. It sits in my drafts folder, waiting. For what I am not sure. Maybe it was 30 days of intense writing, maybe its the pandemic, or maybe I just have little to say coming together to form this roadblock.
This morning I realized how futile it is to try and force a blog post. It lacks authenticity. It smacks of some bizarre desperation. Writing generally flows easily for me, but this morning was not the case.
My thoughts are scattered. I cannot focus one one topic long enough to write anything coherent. Maybe it is because my house is in chaos. Today I am doing a deep clean in preparation for the days leading up to Christmas. I function must better when my world has order.
Did I say I function better when my world has order? Wow. As I write, I realize how much our world is spinning in chaos. Such an environment is not fertile ground for clearly thought-out writing. It even hampers off-the-cuff writing – for me at least. And the chaos is not going anywhere anytime soon.
It was almost one year ago to the day when I recorded and published the first of 100+ videos – one every day. I went back and watched those early videos and am toying with the idea of recording a new series. Not 100 days, but something to get the jumble of thoughts moving. Right now they are so stagnant.
For this moment though, I am going to put on Christmas music and get busy organizing what I can and enjoying a few thoughtless moments.
Today I noticed I quietly reached 300 blog followers. There was no fanfare or any false notion on my part that I truly have 300 followers. I can see by likes and comments and statistics how many people really read what I write.
Some followers are trying to up the ante on their own website’s ranking. Some people are trying to sell products or real estate or any other number of thing I am not in the market for. I follow people who write from their heart and have something to share. I read more than I like and comment, though. Sometimes I agree and sometimes I disagree but I never feel the need to try to argue someone else’s opinion or win them over to my way of thinking.
A long ago I took a statistics class. I still remember the first lesson in the class.
Figures don’t lie but liars can figure.
To those who truly follow and read and like and comment — I thank you. We are nothing without each other.
I stayed up too late last night and found myself sleeping in this morning. Days like this make me so thankful to be retired. I walked outside to look at the progress in the garden before it gets too hot. We have so many small tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers that I hope will survive the insects and the summer heat.
I plucked a single ripe strawberry off the vine and bit into it. It was warm and so flavorful. Luscious! Normally birds would be darting in and out of the feeders, but while our family was here last week, a black bear decided to dine at the bird feeders. The result was a completely destroyed pole and three smashed feeders – our very favorite feeders of course.
Such is life here. We normally put the feeders out around 8:00 a.m. and bring them in around 7:00 p.m. before it gets dark. When bears look for food, they do not worry much about time of day so we are constantly on the watch. We still have a few feeders in the back but it will be a while before we sink money into replacing the expensive feeders.
We have seen a few king snakes and rat snakes around. We leave them alone because they eat the mice and some of the venomous snakes. They can be quite startling if you are not fond of snakes.
Last night my dear friend had to have her golden retriever put to sleep. I am heartbroken for her. Her dogs have been her beloved and close companions, loved and cared for as all animals deserve to be.
Being surrounded by the ever present reminders of life and death, I found myself reflecting on blogging. I had private blogs back when I was active on LiveJournal. This was a sacred place closed to all but a few close friends and one of my sisters. We shared a lot there. Now that my sister has passed, I keep my LiveJournal account so I can go back and revisit the things she wrote.
After that journey, I started a WordPress blog back in 2010 on the heels of a dear friend’s death. My first post was entitled ‘In Search of Signs of Life’. Funny how threads resurface in our lives. It was a place where I could process my feelings and thoughts around life and death. I wrote a good bit there as my sisters fought their battles with cancer. I have not written there in a long time although the blog is still up.
I started this blog 240 days ago as part of a goal of blogging every day. I think I have found myself over this course time. I am able to reflect without being absorbed. I can be empathetic without becoming depressed. I see and acknowledge what is not healthy for me and move on. I am constantly seeking to expand my experiences and knowledge and I have found blogging an excellent way to do so.
This morning I was honored when a fellow blogger (dare I say friend?) Pete recommended my blog to his followers. I was honored to think he found something of substance in what I share here. Thank you again, Pete.
I appreciate all who take the time to come by and read my blog. It means a lot. Blogging has certainly enriched my life and I have learned so much about us as people. We are much more alike than we sometimes realize. And as people, we need each other. Bridging cultural differences and discovering commonality is a gift. One that I will treasure for a lifetime.
Today has been a relaxed day even though another day of heavy rains. I woke up around 7:00 am but then allowed the rain to lull me back to sleep. Since waking the second time, I have been relaxing, doing a few chores and doing some research. If you follow and read, or happen to stumble upon my blog, I’d love to ask for some input.
Why I’m Blogging
I have been a blogger both personally and professionally for years. I love the outlet it gives me when thoughts swirl around in my head. This particular blog, however, was started as part of a challenge out of an online writing class I was taking. The challenge was to blog for 365 days straight.
Well, I have not yet missed a day, although a couple of my blogs were delayed when we had a snow storm and no power, internet or cell service for three days. Today is my 85th day of blogging every day.
It has been good for me to come here and blog every day. Some of my recent posts have been very short as we found our way through the death of my mother-in-law. Regardless, I was here and I made the effort every day.
My Dilemma
My New Writing Muse – Humphrey
If you are a follower of my blog, I am wondering if publishing a blog every day for a year is too much. Today I have read that many people unsubscribe from blogs because if it is too much it becomes almost spam-like. I certainly don’t want that.
I, myself, follow a number of blogs and I do get emails when they are published. Some days I may have 15 or 20 emails and other days I may only get a few. Some of the blogs I read faithfully — regardless of whether I am subscribed or not.
While I know I can continue to blog every day for 365 days, is this what I should be doing? Now that I am focused on some writing classes and joining some writing groups, I know I will be writing every day. In the beginning, the idea of blogging every day was for me. Now I’m wondering if this is the right fit for me. Maybe twice a week is better.
Here’s Where You Come In
If you read my blog, I would like to ask you to take a moment and let me know your thoughts. Are you tired of getting an email or notification every day? I read a suggestion that a newsletter is a better option than writing a blog every day, but that seems too business-like for me.
After all, I really blog for myself but do enjoy the interaction with those who read my blog. Some comment here and others on social media where I share the link to my blog. I love that people are reading but annoying my readers is not my goal.
So, if you don’t mind, take a minute to weigh in and let me know what you think. I value your opinion.
“And so I write. I write my life. I write to escape real life. I write to live moments over again. I write to rewrite the moments I’ve lived over in a way that makes more sense to me. I write the moments to heal. I write the moments I hope never happen. And I write the moments I hope will happen.” R.B. O’Brien
Such is life here. We normally put the feeders out around 8:00 a.m. and bring them in around 7:00 p.m. before it gets dark. When bears look for food, they do not worry much about time of day so we are constantly on the watch. We still have a few feeders in the back but it will be a while before we sink money into replacing the expensive feeders.
Being surrounded by the ever present reminders of life and death, I found myself reflecting on blogging. I had private blogs back when I was active on LiveJournal. This was a sacred place closed to all but a few close friends and one of my sisters. We shared a lot there. Now that my sister has passed, I keep my LiveJournal account so I can go back and revisit the things she wrote.
fromcavewalls.wordpress.com 
