I’ve been blogging long enough that there are people here I’ve exchanged comments with for years. I get a little blasé about blogging, skimming through my reader, hitting the Like button, making pithy comments. Lately, though, I’ve been feeling more gratitude and perhaps, sentiment. These familiar voices, from some people I’ve never met, have accompanied me over the years, whether they knew it or not.
I’d like to say thank you to some old friends and introduce you to a few new ones.
My friend, Ross over at Drinking Tips for Teens wrote a touching and funny post this week about giving up drinking. He’s a Canadian humorist with heart. Thanks to his CBC “Breakaway” broadcasts (his first album is a classic), I know what his actual voice sounds like and can now read all his comments in that voice, instead of with a faux French accent or a patois that includes “hoser” and “eh” at the end of every sentence. Which is how I read anything written by Canadians. Sorry, eh?
In regards to Canadians, I’d like to say thank you to Fransi over at 365 and Counting. She comments early and often, which kicks off some great conversational threads and I really appreciate that. She’s currently working on a memoir and blogs about a wide range of subjects, including getting fired up about American politics. It’s an unhealthy spectator sport at this juncture, but we need all the friends we can get.
Alison over at Adventures in Wonderland, always adds to the conversation. While she doesn’t know it, I think of her as one of my Zen people – someone who shows us a life well-lived. She has a wonderful blog with her husband, Don, as they document traveling the world with wonderful descriptions and photographs. They did a lovely interview at HuffPo – it was great to see and hear them.
Bill and I have exchanged emails over our writing and the challenges of being gainfully unemployed. His writing appealed to me right from the start at pinklightsabre and his travels with his family over the last six months have added further dimensions. He’s one of those people who unintentionally challenges me to read harder and write better.
John (Pastor John Coleman) at A Napper’s Companion is a kind commenter and brings a valued mindfulness to his blog. He wrote a book a couple of years ago, which sits on my reading table: Your Grandmother Raised Monarchs and Other Wonders Before Your Time. It’s a narrative to his grandson and I enjoyed the gentle vignettes about life as a pastor. For me, it also serves as a reminder that the extremist religion we now see in public life is not representative of all religion or of all Christians.
I’d like to thank a couple of real life friends, one of whom I’ve known for years and another who stepped out of the ether world into my real one.
My friend, Kiri, over at The Dust Season has evolved with me over the years, especially in the last few as we try to carve out space for our writing, in spite of ourselves. She’s a science fiction writer with several book drafts under her belt, a penchant for wordplay and an ability to make me laugh at the darkest things.
Sandy came into my world despite my online antisocial antics and vitriol against hugs. She’s a creative, wise person with a warm heart and a great sense of humor. She writes about her life living with bipolar disorder over at A Mind Divided. She is hitting the road with her artistic cards, but her Etsy shop will reopen on April 16th.
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There are so many new and interesting writers and readers who I’ve “met” over the last few months, that there would not be enough space to share them all here. But I’d like to start somewhere.
Kim at Wobblenot.com blogs about a wide range of subjects for well-being and a balanced life. I enjoyed her post The Worst Obituary I’ve Ever Read. From her comments alone, she strikes me as an engaged and engaging person.
Dave at A Nomad in Cyberspace writes about a wide range of topics. I enjoy writers who can traverse culture under a unifying theme, as evidenced in We Can Be Together.
Lisa at Lisa Pomerantzster: Are We There Yet? is a mentsch and a yiddisher kop, which I learned by going to the Yiddish links on her site. She is one of two moms, raising two girls and writes about parenting, liberal rants and does it all with a sense of humor.
Jim at Snippets of a Traveling Mind started blogging in the fall of 2015, in order to share his travel experiences during his retirement years. As a yoga practitioner and retired teacher, his posts reflect curiosity and thoughtfulness.
I’m going to stop there, because my novel is not, despite my fondest wishes, going to finish itself.
Thank you to new friends and to my continuing friends.
You have my gratitude and I look forward to conversations in the year ahead!
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