Four More Years!

On this day I have been blogging for four years. I cannot account for my persistence in this habit. I must really be getting something out of it.

And of course I am! (That was my trademark dry humor that you've come to love! RIGHT?)

Three big somethings come to mind: I have made real friends of people I met entirely on the internet, and I've grown closer to people I already knew because they became readers here; I have learned a ton from the people who comment here, on matters practical and more metamagical; and the third thing is more interior. It's that sometimes, on this blog, I have known the satisfaction of saying something the way I meant to say it. Anyone who writes, even if it's just an email to a friend, knows that that is an elusive butterfly.

I certainly don't achieve it in every post, but it flickers in and out, even if only I can see it. And I get satisfaction from reading back and discovering moments that make me say, "Oh, this is a true record of how I thought about this thing," or, "This is exactly how this was for me."

I don't mean for this to be horn-tooty! I'm just talkin' 'bout Shaft.

By way of anniversary retrospective, here are the posts from the last several months that stick out in my mind. In these posts, in places, I said it the way I hoped to:

Old Picture
The one about the snapshot of my brother, sister, and me. I think about this one still.

He'll Be Here All Week
The one where I took Hank for his five year-old checkup. I'm saving it for his rehearsal dinner.

All Happy Families Are Alike
The one about being with my whole family in the mountains and the group picture and the nightstands left in the Swap Hut. Reading it makes me feel like we're still together. A close second in this regard is Cricket Finger.

Let's Name Numbers
The one about my health insurance clusterfuck. To put it delicately. The comments on this one are invaluable, really.

The Report on That Dildo Party
I read this and still laugh. Read it and you never have to go to one of these parties. And thank you for being a friend.

Lovin'
The one about having The Talk with Laura, sorta.

My memory only goes back to late last summer, apparently. Thank you for indulging me in this look backward. You people are in my head. You're in there when I'm writing, and I'm thinking, "How to tell them this?" It is some of the best fun that can be had.

xoxo