Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Back to Blogging

It’s that time of year—back to school, back to work, back to leaf raking. So why not back to blogging? On June 14, I started a summer break from posting stories here. My thoughts at the time included the possibility of never returning.

Serious writers know that the act of frequently coming up with a new thought and developing it into a coherent story is mildly stressful at best and difficult most of the time. The reward for writing is not found in the act itself, it is in the good feelings authors experience when readers make their presence  known. And readers generate great pleasure for writers when they say they liked what was written.


In my 80th year, it was becoming harder to come up with new material, and anything that smacked of “work” was increasingly distasteful. Although my blog readership statistics continued to increase, the number of comments had been static for some time.

Reader reactions were bittersweet during the first weeks of my hiatus from blogging. It was gratifying to hear from friends old and new who said they hoped my summer would be enjoyable and they looked forward to my return. On the negative side, some people who I care greatly about showed they care very little about my work by not even noticing the absence of posts. Happily, the positive reactions were much more numerous than the negative.

Two anniversaries played the biggest parts in convincing me to return. The most important happened less than two weeks ago. Beautiful wife Sandy wrote on Facebook: “55 years ago today on September 2, Dick and I were married. WOW! It doesn’t feel like that long ago. It’s been a fun and adventuresome ride. . . looking forward to many more!”

Presiding over this blog has been part of the “fun and adventure” for me for a long time. The blog's tenth anniversary was July 11. During our traditional anniversary dinner, Sandy and I agreed that ten more anniversaries are quite likely in our future.

So how is an octogenarian to spend another decade? Embark on entirely new activities? Minimize all activity and concentrate on pure rest and relaxation? Stick with the activities that were part of the fun and adventure of the previous half century? 

I crossed the last item off my bucket list last year. New adventures are not on my horizon. I'm still feeling good, mentally and physically, so doing nothing at all would drive me batty. So, it's back to blogging with no guarantees about frequency or quality. Seeing how that works out should serve to generate some fun while continuing to pursue an old adventure

10 comments:

Meryl Baer said...

Welcome back!

Rummuser said...

I am delighted to see you back blogging. Keep it up.

PiedType said...

I think I must have been thinking something along the lines of "all bloggers take breaks and some even say they're quitting, but most seem to come back." So glad you're one who chose to come back. I like your persepective on things.

Anonymous said...

I look forward to your posts again. as you are a couple of years older, you are blazing a path for me. Yes, writing new posts is difficult. Somedays I feel like Pete and repeat. Mostly, other bloggers don't notice if you do repeat something, it goes with the territory of aging.

Spouses understand this. I blathered onto David this morning about the linkages in the family in England (royal and mine, although they are not connected.) I though he could follow none of it, so I linked names to places we have visited in England, like the Black Prince's grave and Howard Castle.)

Every now and then David remembers something "new to me" from his own family history and shares it. So talking about family histories must inspire him? Later he rediscovered some "ancestry" software he said he was going to use.

If you and Sandy can still converse after all those years of marriage that's great.

I like your artwork here and wondered if you drew it yourself?

Dick Klade said...

Dianne . . . Wish I was an artist, but unfortunately my skills are meager in that area. The art came from a search in Google Images, a service available to Google account holders.

Tom said...

Hah, hah. None of us can guarantee either frequency or quality . . . although some of us can guarantee the batty!

Dick Klade said...

Thanks for the kind words, friends.

joared said...

Glad you're back! I cked periodically but just discovered you returned and I missed the occasion til now. I've "retired" from blogging in years past, then sorta skipped along occasionally -- so whatever works.

Congrats as can vouch that 80 can be a good year and promising decade -- I hope! How fortunate you are to be celebrating those years with your spouse. Every July I'm reminded how many years it might have been had my husband's health not altered our course together after almost 43 yrs. Enjoy and treasure your time together.

Alan G said...

Welcome back my friend...

Richard Brewer said...

Glad to see you back.