When the stars align, we leave the house dressed, fed, and alert no later than 7:00 a.m. We pull into the school parking lot by 7:15 a.m. I’m in the library preparing for the day by 7:45 a.m. after 30 minutes hanging out in the staff lounge. Spoiler: we never leave the house by 7:00 a.m.
We can’t seem to get out the door before 7:06 a.m. We pull into the parking lot at 7:23 a.m. almost every morning because at 7:08 we get stuck in the line of cars trying to get onto the freeway heading west. Today we made it to school earlier that 7:23 a.m. and it was very, very weird. I didn’t have to wait for a pocket of space to cross the intersection. I didn’t jockey my way onto the freeway. I didn’t wait in a long line of cars to get to Starbucks. I zipped through the parking lot to my parking space. Zipped!
“Where are all the cars? I hope there’s not a zombie virus,” I joked.
The boys looked out their windows. “So weird,” they both said.
I checked my mental calendar and couldn’t come up with a holiday, federal or otherwise. The streets were just as empty when we left school 8 hours later. People were out there doing something, just not the way they did it yesterday and not where I could see it. How did all those kids get to school?!
I finally found someone willing to give me the blog design I want: comments, blog roll, full posts, and static pages (God save me from sliding images and truncated posts, please). To do this, she first asked me to find three blogs like mine with a design similar to what I wanted. I searched but could only find one. Everyone else stopped blogging last year, or the year before that. I followed links to their social media accounts and found they were mostly silent there, too. Again, people were out there doing something, just not the way they did it yesterday and not where I could see it.
I’m so happy to be blogging again. I’m feeling more present and aware. I’m still a slow-poke, choppy writer. I’m eager to build up the conversation here to what it once was, but that will come with grit and time. What is important is that I’m here, doing the same thing I did yesterday, where everyone can see it.
I agree with your preferences re: blog design. Glad you’re here.
Thank you, Hallie!
So happy that you are back! Another favorite voice on the internet had recently stopped her blog, so I’m appreciative of the time, effort and openness it takes to share your thoughts here with the rest of us.
Thank you, Lan. I bet they will return. I drifted off for a while, but nothing compares to this medium!
I think yarnharlot.com still blogs in the old school way you are looking for too. The knitters got what you need!
Haha!! I think you are right! They must be my people, even though I don’t knit.
I was actually going to mention that the blogs I follow regularly (about 5 of them) are those kind of blogs and 3 of them are knitter blogs! We knitters like to keep it old school ;)
And yes, I actually could see knitters being your people. It’s something useful, beautiful, and simple enough to do once you get the hang of it. Kind of like wrapping books ;)
I’m so glad you found a designer to give you what you want!!
Yay!
I generally read on Feedly and haven’t clicked through in a while… Loving seeing your walking posts again! It’s making me wish Spring would hurry up and decide to come to stay in my neck of the woods already.
Thank you! I like it better here than Instagram. It is too much of a time suck for me!
Just wanted to stop in and say thanks for coming back. I’ve read and enjoyed your blog for a few years now and you’re by far one of my favorites to read. I was sad when you stopped blogging but kept you on my feedly list and I’m so glad I did. I love your short quick posts, its like catching up with an old friend.
I’m glad you’re back! We don’t know one another, but I missed you and your thoughtful, gentle, honest posts.
I’m chiming in to say I’m also glad you’re here!
Ditto on the other sentiments. Glad to see you’re back. I have you on my Feedly so I never miss anything!
Your blog posts bring me so much joy, so I’m also glad you are back! Thank you for sharing your humor and your adventures with your family :)
I’m so happy that Alicia is still blogging, and at pretty much the same length and frequency as she always has. If she stopped, I’d feel like a relative had died. (I’m not that close with most of my relatives, so…) And glad you’re here, too. :)