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
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:
Welcome back!
I am delighted to see you back blogging. Keep it up.
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.
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?
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.
Hah, hah. None of us can guarantee either frequency or quality . . . although some of us can guarantee the batty!
Thanks for the kind words, friends.
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.
Welcome back my friend...
Glad to see you back.
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