I think I miss my blog...

A funny thing happened yesterday…

Because Mose is graduating, and I wanted to see his first day of kindergarten (on his very last day of school), I went searching for an old  photo on Facebook. But my FB post redirected me to a blog post, from 2011.   And when I began to read back, through that year, I  found myself so incredibly grateful for all the lost memories.   Also sad, to think about what social media has done to blogging, which felt so much more thoughtful, crafted, curated, specific.

Blogs were diaries that we shared with our friends.  And I guess so is social media, in a sense. But in fact, social media is TOO MUCH BAD DIARY. Too full of reposts and daily noise and advertising to truly digest.

I know I’ve gotten far away from blogging, but I think I might try to make a weekly post again. Or even just a monthly post! These last few years have been so intense in so many ways, and I find myself sad that I haven’t chronicled them very well. The Trump election, insurrection, pandemic and lockdown, the many many elections here in GA, including the joy of Warnock/Ossoff, and the heartbreak of Stacey Abrams’ loss. I haven’t written about October 7 and the war in Gaza, which have altered my life and mental state even more than Covid. As hard as it is to write about these things, I’m sad I haven’t.  Because even if nobody else will ever read these posts, I think I would like to, someday, down the road.  I’d like to be able to remember what I felt, and the details of these days.

In more personal news, I haven’t written about my mom’s cancer and several other family illnesses.  Or important trips I’ve taken (Rome with the family, Paris with my mom).  Somehow I neglected to post about my Bruce Springsteen Little Golden Book. Or Mose’s college search and the literary magazine he started. Or Lew’s deep interest in music and the songs he’s making.  Not to mention the sudden departure of my beloved agent, and the year of change that followed. Then there’s my struggle with writing, generally, and my discovery of The Artist’s Way, which brought me back to the page…

Now I’m sitting here, staring down over a (wonderful, but frightening) cliff. Mose will leave for Massachusetts and Williams College in the fall, and Lew will begin his senior year, and his college search. After that, in about 15 months, I suppose I’ll be sitting here one day, without any kids in my home, preparing for an Everything Change, for the first time in decades.

Will I leave Atlanta, finally head home to Baltimore? Will I write my best novel?  Will Chris and I become digital nomads and move to Portugal?  Will I take drawing and painting classes?  Will I foster a million kittens or become a master gardener?  Any of these feel possible right now.  So it feels like a good time to dust off the old blog, and use this space.  Blogging often helped me think things through.

I know most folks are using Substack now, and I might try that. But don’t expect any consistent subject matter, if you should sign up. As I have always done, I’ll likely flit from subject to subject, from the personal to the global to the frivolous to the promotional.

And I’ll post everything here too, because I have been doing so for 16 years now, and it turns out it’s nice… to have all your memories in one place.

If you’re reading this, whoever you are, thank you!  It might just be the two of us for awhile

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