Sunday, January 3, 2016

Start The New Year Thankfully or Thankfully Start The New Year?

I have not, not, not been in the blogging spirit for the past few months. Story ideas float through my head, good ones, even, and then right on out. Just yesterday, I asked myself if I should hang up my blogging shoes.

I started my blog when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I did it for me, because I didn't want to forget anything that was happening. I did it for my friends, near and far, so they would be informed. And I did it because I hoped somewhere, somehow, someone who was going through the same thing would stumble upon my little story and somehow be helped.

With nothing but good news on the breast cancer front, the theme of my blog has evolved. A few people have found it that have become not only followers, but true friends. My writing has improved, especially since I began participating in Ivy Walker's Six Sentence Stories

I get hits from Russian spammers and freaks who Google foot fetishes and butt cracks and volleyball asses and get my blog, but I also do, occasionally, reach someone who was looking for information about breast cancer. I've been contacted by a few women, and each of them told me how helpful she found it to read about my experience. Wasn't this one of my goals?

And still, I don't know if I should continue. Would my house be cleaner and my laundry caught up if I weren't reading and writing blog posts? Would I regret not having an outlet for the random things that go through my head and end up in a post? Would I remember to count my thankfuls every week, even if I weren't writing a post about them? Would I be missed? 

Points to ponder.

Here are this week's Ten Things of Thankful:

1. I'm thankful for my blog followers. My subscriber list is small, but my following among my Facebook friends is strong. I am humbled.

2. I'm thankful for the wonderful couple who lives across the street from my parents' lake house. It gives me peace of mind to know they are keeping an eye on the place when we can't be there. This goes double in times of disaster. Tim is a gifted sculptor; you can check out some of his work on his website, timcherry.com.

3. Last weekend, Joplin received over 8 inches of rain in three days. We had leaks in other parts of our house (not good), but our basement remained dry. Did you read that? DRY. That's more than good.

4. My house has been de-Christmased and everything is in the attic. Love to get it out, love to have it all put away again.

5. I got all the Christmas stuff taken down in both of my preschool rooms, so I don't have to walk in Tuesday morning and feel like I'm in the movie "Groundhog Day." 

6. I bought new pillows for our bed. They were much needed, as ours were in a sorry state. My husband hates them, but I love them, so he'll have to get used to them.

7. One more day of Christmas break, one more morning without setting an alarm, before getting back to work.

8. How many weeks can I say I'm thankful for my electric mattress pad? Because I am.

9. Thankful for my Kitchen Aid mixer, which I used today to make bread dough. I would cry and cry if my Kitchen Aid died, mostly because it was a wedding gift and I wouldn't be able to afford to buy a new one.

10. Oh, I found my black boots! I have been on the lookout for them for the past two months, and I found them in the bottom of a fabric box where I keep all my TOMS shoes. I have zero recollection of having put them there in the spring, but I must have, because God knows no one else in this house ever puts anything away.

Be ever thankful.


Ten Things of Thankful


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20 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I love your blog. You crack me up!!! 8 inches of rain?!?!? Holy cow.

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    1. Thank you, Diana! There was even more rain where my parents' lake house is. Story to come.

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  3. I'm of the opinion that it's too late to quit. That (writing) a blog is as much a relationship thing as it is a writing thing (yes, I am skilled with the use words…).
    No, serially! You can stop posting, and many of us go through times of more posts and then less posts, but I suspect that if you make it past a certain point (lets say, 6 months worth of writing words and sending them to the world), you life is altered. Nothing major but your world has more people in it than it did when the people you met were limited to the people, well that you met, as in, stand in front of, pass the ketchup to, wave across the stadium at…. and that's surely kind of hard to forget.

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    1. Clark, you are so right. My life IS altered because of this here blog. Thank you for verbally shaking my shoulders.

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  4. Of COURSE you'd be missed! (And how in the world was I not a follower? I'm sure I was a follower! I am absolutely losing my mind!)

    So glad you are safe and dry-ish!

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    1. Thank you, Kristi! I've made so many good friends, like you, through blogging. Wait, not just friends - COUSINS!

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  5. You should know i have been waiting for your post...i miss you even when you are blogging!!! I would miss you so much if you werent. I knew you were dealing with flooding all week so i didnt wanna bug ya with texts but i couldn't wait for your post much longer!!! You and your blog are some of my favs...and i believe a few years back ...maybe last year my friend Maria was so relieved you were out here to prove that its livable!!! Xo i and d

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    1. Flooding and my mom and it's all a lot to deal with. And then I feel like a big crybaby, because there are so many (like you) with a much bigger row to hoe.
      You know I heart you.

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  6. you would surely be missed...don't you dare quit I love all your stories...psst I posted tonight; sadly though I did not do a TTOT this week but I promise next week I will...
    I get the rut...It's a tough call... I don't have wise words to ponder except hang in there ----I would miss your posts for sure.
    :)

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    1. Thank you, Marisa. I am always grateful for your support! You never fail to read my posts and comment and it means the world to me. I will do my best to get out of my rut or funk or pity party and get with it!

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  7. So glad you decided to start this here blog, even during times of stress and illness as it were.
    So glad things are going better, when it comes to your health.
    I use my blog to write about the mealth and medical stuff, the writing, and the relationships. A blog can evolve and better things can come from it, but it's important to remember how everything began.
    Glad you are dry and warm, the Christmas stuff was enjoyed while it lasted and is now put away, and you found your boots.
    :-)

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    1. Thank you, Kerry! I think I need to make time to write and it will happen.

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  8. Hey I found your blog quite helpful when I had what turned out to be a blip on the scale of breast health. The great thing about blogging is you can put it aside and do it whenever you want to. Starting the new year De-Christmified is wonderous. Happy New year.

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  9. You are a bright spot in my day. You have a gift of bringing a smile to my face. Just commit to doing what you can when you can. You have a message. And it is one enjoyed by many.

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    1. You have no idea how much I appreciate your kind words, Nancy! Thank you!

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  10. Huzzah to finding your boots! I'm so glad. I hate when I lose something like boots. Did that only recently, but I found them again after more like two YEARS! I wear them most days now :)

    So glad your basement is dry, and that the lake house is being watched over.

    And, uh, YES YOU WOULD BE MISSED!

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    1. What I really hate is that I am the one who lost them. I really wanted to blame that on someone else :)
      Thank you, my potato farmer friend!

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  11. I am so glad I have gotten to know you on here..and I am getting to know you. Let's hope 2016 is a good year..and yes the weirdos in the world that have to ruin things ...don't get me started..so glad the basement is dry. We have had the rains this week, and it is unnerving...I hope things stay dry. I saw the terrible flooding in the midwest. It was terrible.

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