Two Hundred

Historically it’s a Week in Review day, which, it so happens, I’m finding harder and harder to complete. I'm forcing myself to do them, and it shows, so today, I'm passing. On top of which, for this, THE 200th POST, (drumroll please) my heart dictates that the words be oh, I don't know, memorial in some way. My head however, isn’t in the game. It’s a wet Saturday; rain crescendos on the roof and hisses on the patio behind me. The temperature registers low enough that the heat kicked on before I turned down the thermostat. (It’s New England—no heat allowed until mid October—unless you are my sister who holds off until November. There will be no such martyrdom from me.) I’m in my jeans and fleece and slippers, contemplating this Middle Passages milestone and all I can come up with are trite phrases like, “Time flies” and “How did I get here?”

Eight months into this endeavor, I continue wake up with the distinct feeling that life is different. Saying goodbye to my 23 year employment habit has been a long process—ongoing yet. The proverbial big picture though, feels positive and right (I started to type “write” there, isn’t that funny?) and even when my chest constricts and my stomach heaves—which happens more often than you want to know—there’s an undercurrent of hopefulness. I’m on a road, and though it winds around blind curves, looks down over steep cliffs and my map blew out the window; I'll get to my destination. So with this post today, I’d like to recognize some bloggers whose words have pointed me in the right direction, buoyed me up and inspired me over the last eight months—all of whom have educated me as I clear my own path.

If you haven’t already, take a look at AmyMusings, who makes me laugh out loud every time I read her. Gosh, I wish I could be that funny. Then there is Suzanne at Tales of Extraordinary Ordinariness. Her writing is evocative, redolent in imagery and description. There’s a surge of anticipation when I see she’s written a new post. Check out Through my Eyes. How wonderful that, with a sister living “down under,” out of the five million (or so) blogs out there, I’d find one from Australia. But that’s not the only draw by far. Tabitha writes beautiful, meaty words that regularly produce a chuckle, occasionally a tear. Terresa at Chocolate Chip Waffle makes me feel warm and gooey inside, just like her title, which wins my favorite blog name award, by the way. This list wouldn't be complete if I didn't include Amy at Seven Hundred Fifty Words. I know I gave her a call out yesterday, but since she's been there since the beginning and has been more encouraging than she can ever know, she gets another holler from me. At If You Give a Girl A Pen, I regularly find inspiration. Today I found Tes Hilaire, a guest blogger who wrote “I needed to write. I wasn’t me unless I did.”

That comment sums up my last 199 posts, the previous eight months, and in truth, most of the last 23 years.