Fourteen Years

Is it pathetic that I have been writing this blog for fourteen years?  Well, to be clear, it was only thirteen years until today.  I had not posted anything in the year 2022.  It seems that writing a blog on a software that can change at any moment is a fool's endeavor.  There is no way that I know of to easily save it to my own computer.  Fourteen years of effort could all disappear like smoke.

At first I wrote to practice writing.  It was difficult sharing anything I had written with others.  Luckily for me, one person loved everything I wrote and was deeply supportive.  Writing for an audience of even one person was a huge boost!  After all, every writer hopes to find her audience.  

Alas, my good friend and most ardent fan died many years ago.  Sometimes when I write, I imagine that he is still reading, though not reading from the afterlife.  It is utterly depressing to think that any afterlife would involve reading about an old woman's mundane life in Kansas. That might be a punishment in Lesser Hell.  (Lesser Hell is for people who were an asshole only sometimes in life).

Then, I thought that maybe my kids would enjoy reading my blog after I am in Lesser Hell.  They will be fine after I am gone, but everyone misses their mom at times.  It might feel like a bit of home to "hear" my voice again. 

I have two books that belonged to my father.  He signed his name in them.  Whenever I hold them in my hands, I know he also held those books.  Decades after he died, I was given letters that my father had written as a 17 year old in the US Navy during WWII. He was gone so early in my life that I never had a chance to know him as a person, only as my parent.  He was gone so early in his own life that those few letters are the extent of his personal, permanent record.  I am leaving behind years of my personal record, for good or ill.  My kids certainly understand why I will be in Lesser Hell, so leaving any record behind seems to be a bit of a moot point.

The blog has had its good uses.  I have been able to get the general date of a past event.  It would be better if I had the type of mind that would automatically recall at least the year when something happened but I do not.  Sorting through 14 years of benign blog posts can be frustrating, but also a reminder of things I am already forgetting. It also serves to remind that I have led a very boring life.  I could be the best writer on the planet but if I am writing about an excruciatingly boring life, well... what is the expectation?  (Perhaps another reason a human being would go to Lesser Hell.)

Much has happened recently but I do not feel like writing about any of it right now. Too boring, even for me!  But out in the world:  wow!  A world wide pandemic but an effective  immunization developed within months.  Political polarization across the world.  War.  Extreme weather.  The US government publicly admitted UFOs exist and perhaps we should determine what they are?  The first color photographs from the James Webb Telescope are set to be released this month.  A universe full of exciting and amazing things occurring.  

Also in 2022, a grown man pointed out "chemtrails" then told me with a straight face that they only appear just before a rain. A veterinarian told me that ivermectin would clear covid.  Two highly educated men, awash in conspiracy theories.  Today I read a headline stating 130 million Americans struggle with low literacy.  No shit.

For good or ill, here is my first post for the year two thousand twenty two.  Upon reflection, maybe it is a mighty blessing to live a boring life, and a rare thing to document it.

A Valentine gift in 2022, within a half mile of my house!