Month: February 2019

We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know

I recently became aware of SiriusXM.

Lest you think I’m some fancy-schmancy connoisseur of automobile features and perks, you should know that, until recently, I had no idea what SiriusXM was.

An urgent phone call from our Dear Firstborn Son brought news that DFS’s car had died and was unrepairable, and that he needed another car pronto (to be able to get to work everyday). The only used car we knew of with a solid, reliable history that also happened to be immediately available and that could be easily adapted for DFS (he is a “handicapped” driver whose driver’s license requires certain modifications of any car he drives) was my 2011 Subaru Outback.

Since my car was available and was the most promising for DFS (his former car had been a 2005 Subaru Outback, so we were confident my Outback could be adapted appropriately for him), we decided DFS would get my car to replace his. That left me without wheels of my own.

Continue reading We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know

Stepping Back

As I looked through my kitchen window yesterday morning, this is what I saw.

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[Sidenote: Ignore the little white spaceship-looking saucers high in the trees; those are reflections of my kitchen’s ceiling lights 😛 ]

The angle of the view is the same (same line of sight).  The sunrise is the same (well, since each shot was taken seconds apart, the sunrise wouldn’t technically be identical as the sun continued to rise during those few seconds, but let’s just assume it’s the same sunrise for now).   The direction of the picture remains a constant due east.

Though the subject matter (the sunrise) of the two shots is the same, these turned out to be very different pictures. IMHO, anyway. They evoke different responses, energies and thoughts and feelings.

All I did was step back, and the entire view changed.

 

Continue reading Stepping Back

You Have to Start Somewhere

Taking 12 years off from blogging has given me over a decade’s worth of subject matter from which I can develop fresh stories: a decade’s worth of digital pictures with quirky captions, of change and milestones and silliness and tears, of personal growth (I hope) and seasoned insight (maybe) and, perhaps, a few laugh-out-loud blunders along the way.

You’d think I’d be excited to jump right in.

Screen Shot 2019-02-03 at 12.20.11 PMBut as I stared at my computer screen this morning trying to figure out where to begin,
unexpected feelings surfaced: a tightening in my chest, a knot in my stomach, a flush in my face as my heart rate rose.

I felt anxious. Maybe even a little agitated (that’s probably too strong a word, but I can’t come up with another for now).  In any case, I felt decidely uncomfortable.

And I *like* to write!

I don’t know what happened during my hiatus, but this one-time-professional, seasoned freelancer, multi-published writer with a bunch of books and countless articles to her credit, was nervous.

About a blog entry.

A blog entry that would likely be read by, at max, maybe ten people.

Good heavens!  What was I anxious about?

Continue reading You Have to Start Somewhere