My Cyber Time Capsule - Five-Ohh!

A year ago, I wanted to create a time capsule. I'm all too aware that my memory is fading a little. And I knew this was going to be a BIG Year.  I knew that Michael would graduate and hopefully get selected by the Peace Corps for...something. I knew that Katie was ready to move on with her acting.  Alyssa had had about all she was going to stand from Pflugerville High School.  I was turning 50 and Ron was turning 60. Those things alone, would be plenty to record!  I had no idea how much more the year would hold. (which is really ridiculous, because after 50 years, you'd think I'd learn that this is just How We Do It.)

So I started a Photo Blog last February on my birthday, and I called it Five - Ohh!  I had hoped to take a picture each day, but it didn't work out like that. Some days I took more than one, other days I took none. I found the concept difficult to stick to, because sometimes something exciting happened in the morning, and something else exciting would happen in the evening. How would I choose which event would "represent" that day? Anyway, I think I ended up with close to 200 photos there.

My final entry in my Cyber Time Capsule

By summertime, I realized that I couldn't keep my thoughts to myself. Yes, the pictures were great. But I wanted to say more. Thus began the blogging. I had blogged sporadically before, but now I had a reason. I wanted to keep a running journal (be it photo or written) of what was happening in our lives.

So I made my final entry in my PhotoBlog, Five-Ohh! last Monday, on my birthday.  And I really did create a great Time Capsule for my family. But what do I do with it? Just leave it to sit there in cyberspace? They'd probably never go to it. It's a little cumbersome to scroll page through page. The Five Ohh! archive allows you to just look at the collection of photos, and that's cool. I guess.

Please help me figure out what my options are. I could make it into a slide show, like we did for Ron's Father's Day video. Or make a collage at Photobucket. But 200 pictures?  I've been wanting to try out Blurb, for book building. Since these photos are already digital and on my computers, that would be easy enough to do.

Any other suggestions?

A screen shot of what a piece of the archive looks like

Just a little wallowing....

What a weekend! I know blog posts aren't necessarily just a journal of the day, but with NaBlPoMo, I'm trying to come up with something!

And right now, I'm kind of in "Wallowing Mode!"

Turning 50 has been a pretty momentous year for me. It's the year 2 of my 3 kids moved away. Not just down the road to college but AWAY. Katie to New York City, home only for holidays. And Michael, to Nicaragua with the Peace Corps, home in 2 years. Probably not before that. My baby ended her high school experiment and started in Cosmetology. What that means FOR ME, because I'm guessing by now you realize that I'm only focusing on what all this means FOR ME! When she went to high school, she really was just going for the experience, I think she had about a 60-70% attendance rate. If she was tired, she stayed home. If we wanted to go out to lunch, we did. If she wanted to leave early, I picked her up. Suffice it to say, our heart was not really "into" that experience.  But now that she's in this cosmetology program - something she really cares about - she has something like a 104% attendance rate!  I know, how can you have more than 100%? She goes early and clocks in. So she is there Monday through Friday 8-5. Plus one weekend per month of extra classes. How that all translates for me is that she's never around.  And when she is, she is with her boyfriend. And I love that for her because they both make each other happy, but I'm missing her.

I am missing all of them. So much. You don't even know. But if you were with me this weekend, you might have a clue by my red swollen eyes.

When I brought my kids home to homeschool, I knew I was going to be incredibly involved in their lives. And as they approached their teens, I knew that it would only be for a finite number of years.  So I set up some gardening, started some writing, even restarted NHEN.  And these are  all good projects, but I'm noticing that they don't keep my attention the way doing things with my children did.

This has left a pretty big void in my life. And I want to be careful about what I put to fill the void. I don't want to just fill it with any ole thing. Still, I'm looking for what that will be.

This year also, I made the decision that my mother was too old to drive. She was not happy with the idea. I'll write another post later about what led to that decision and how hard it was to make. But not here. But that means I drive her around a lot. And she's very forgetful. And repetitive.

But this my 50th year, I'm able to say that my friendships are good. I have been able to reconnect with those who are far away from me, and keep in touch with those locally. I'd like to do this a little bit more.

I've joined a gym and tried to do more vegan recipes. I have a daunting number of pounds to lose in order to get healthy. But I'd love to be able to do more hiking and outdoor activities. And I have a huge learning curve for figuring out how to cook in a healthy way. Tofu sits for months in my fridge staring at me, daring me to try a recipe. The bag of quinoa from Whole Foods, just gets pushed to the side of the counter. I know it's good for me, but what the heck do I do with it???

And today, at my workshop, we talked about many things. Lots of old griefs were stirred up. My eyes are very tired from some of the crying I did. But I'm so happy with the group of people at the Toci center. Even though they are all so different from each other and from me, being there, listening to them, sharing with them, showed me lots of insights. It was a good thing.



I'll be back to regular blogging tomorrow, but for now, this is me.

Why Write?

The prompt for Day 2 of National Blog Posting Month, is

"What is your favorite part about Writing?"

 

...which, for me, translates into "Why do you like to write?"

 

I write for a variety of reasons.  First, I've always loved words. From Dr. Seuss to the Dalai Lama, words have fascinated me. They can evoke so many emotions and thoughts in the reader. That's really powerful! I love to read what others have to say, and I often find myself with some kind of rebuttal or additional comment in my head. So the natural thing for me to do is write it down. 

I can remember living in Alaska (we were in the military, so we moved often), and I was taking a shower. I had been reading an interesting commentary about homeschooling and I just felt compelled to write! So I reached over to some of the packing paper from the top of the box and just started scribbling out my thoughts.  It must have been a strange sight, this middle-aged woman in a towel, sitting on the edge of a bed loaded with unpacked knick-knacks, trying not to drip on my thoughts being poured onto a piece of paper.  Maybe, I'm just all too aware of how forgetful I am. And if I don't write it down, it's probably going to be lost! haha!

Anyway, I'm rambling...

I like writing because I like to be inspired and I like to inspire. I really think we are put here for a reason, and our job is to figure out what that reason is.  Even at 50, I'm not 100% sure what my Purpose is. I've raised wonderful children, out having adventures of their own. And I love documenting what's going on with our family. That's what I've used my blog for primarily. But now I'm in this "Second Half" of Life. And I have this inkling that I'm on the verge of something amazing. Maybe it will show up in my writing.

My PhotogBlog - Five Ohh!

I started a project back in February when I turned 50. I took a picture each day - or used one from the internet - that represented what happened in my day.  One photo per day. I didn't get it 100% and there's a little techno-glitch in the month of July, but overall, I'm pleased.  Feel free to look at it and see what turning 50 looks like - Five Ohh!