151,340 words seem like a whole lot of words. Surely that’s enough for a couple of novels, right? But if you average it out over ten years, it’s really just a little more than a short story per year. And did I really write anything meaningful? Did anyone read all those words?
Ten years ago today I published the first blog post on Front Porches and Candlelight. In case you missed it (and I don’t really know if anyone that followed my blog then is still with me — if you are, let me know!) it was titled “Advice to the Young” and was my attempt to pass on a little wisdom to my children and the younger generation. I doubt my kids read it, but I was hoping to condense what I thought I’d learned over the years into a few words of advice. I read it again recently and I stand by what I wrote. When I wrote it my second marriage was still young and I was dealing with the fallout from my first marriage and trying to find what my parenting style should be. I made some mistakes in my first marriage and then despite my efforts, I made some more in my second. Reading the end of that first post where I wrote about treasuring and relishing every moment of that second chance I’d been given at love, makes me a little sad. But I can honestly say that I did do that. That was a gift I will always treasure, and now I’m so happy that I have a third chance at happiness.
Over the last ten years this blog has been all kinds of things. It’s been a place to share my love of photography. I’ve shared my photos on other sites before, and the site that preceded this one was specifically for my photo business, Winning Shots. I retired that one around 2011 or 2012 when I lost the enthusiasm that I once had for taking pictures of soccer player after soccer player, trying to get them to smile and balance the ball on their feet. I enjoyed it for a long time, but after a while, it was time to move on. I still hear from some of the coaches or team moms occasionally and it’s always great hearing from them and seeing how the kids have grown.
When I started writing here I had no idea that I would get so personal. That I would often cry while writing a post. That it would become therapy. But I do believe that it has helped me. Thank you for being patient while I sort through my feelings and process the events in my life.
I also had no idea that I would start writing poetry. These poems can’t be classified as masterpieces, but I’m proud of them. I’m proud of the short stories I’ve written, and yes, I still hope to do more. I’ll get to it sooner or later.
If you’re one of the 300+ who has chosen to follow me, thank you. I truly appreciate the follow and the comments you leave on my posts. I know these numbers aren’t very significant in the grand scheme of the whole worldwide web, but I worked hard for each one of them.
