MIA d-list blogger finally found... half-alive and quasi-well

Ten years from now, as I sit back in my easy chair in a trophy home overlooking the rising ocean, I will open up my super-luxurious, omni-directional fingertiptop (because laptops will probably be obsolete by then) and I’ll scroll through my blog archives to this particularly empty space in time. Late 2006. Not because I’m a glut for punishment whose feeling nostalgic for throat pain… but to remind myself that I am one of the luckiest human beings this side of the Rio Grande…yes, even if I still have lingering issues with my missing tonsils that result in things like painful strain while reading a bedtime story to a little boy who is grounded for attempting to cut his own hair in a fashion that bares close resemblance to his eighty-nine-year-old grandfather. I. AM. FORTUNATE. I have a two-year-old kid who finally quit “puking up.” And neighbors who haven’t bitch-slapped me for all the snow left unshoveled on my side of the walkway. And a husband who was more than happy to help me put back on all that weight I managed to lose last month. I have friends still checking in on me, and a publisher who reminds me regularly that my novel is the cat’s MEEEOOWW, even if it still needs a little tender, lovin’ swift-kick-in-the-ass care here and there. And, while I live in a town with a grand total of three day care options, two of which won’t take children who still don’t pee outside the vicinity of a diaper ALL the time, at least I HAVE a town to live in. And day cares do exist. And I have children. Children, children everywhere… in the fridge, in the trash can, in my box of tampons, and the closets where Christmas presents were not hidden NEARLY well enough. And, sure, I’m bummed because Santa forgot to bring me some new socks, the kind that could furthermore be used as winter scarves, but at least I have feet to sock. And a neck to scarve. And a long winter to utilize the long, heavy, scarf-like socks that I didn't get. Yes, winters are good, too. They last three-quarters of the year here and give me plenty reason to put off spring cleaning, shaving, and starting up an exercise regime that involves me and breathing in clean, pollen-free, fresh air.

But where am I going with this… Oh yeah, I just wanted to say that I am grateful for having had such a fantastic year. I’m grateful that YOU stopped by and are reading this now. And, while I’ve had moments of self-pity here and there, truly, I am not jaded. Or negative. Or anything that might remind you of a miserly old chap who thought that “Bah, humbug!” was the catchphrase of the nineteenth century. No, not this lady. No siree.

Happy Holidays, friends! Stay warm and safe.

P.S. Thank you, Pendullum. I'm so very glad you found me, too. You're an amazing writer and friend.