Time Flies

Perhaps not surprisingly, I just missed another anniversary. No, not my wedding anniversary, Leslie me informed me that we both missed that a few weeks back. No, the anniversary I missed this time was the 12th anniversary of this blog. In fact, if I hadn’t been looking back trying to figure out how long I’d been practicing Tai Chi, I would never have known it was the blog’s anniversary. As you’ve probably noticed if you stop by regularly, I’m not much into “Special” days. Other than Christmas, I seldom devote a blog entry to holidays.

Still, it’s hard to believe that I first published a blog entry on September 21, 2001, an entry protesting our invasion of Afghanistan, almost as hard as believing that we are still there fighting a war that will accomplish nothing, despite politicians’ claims to the contrary.

Back then blogs were on the cutting-edge of the internet; now they’re almost ancient history, a mere footnote to the history of Twitter, Facebook, and all those other new medias. Luckily, I didn’t think of myself as cutting edge then, and I don’t think of myself as hopelessly obsolete now. I’m doing what I love, and as long as I can keep doing it as well as I want to do it I’ll be here doing it tomorrow and the days after.

The only thing more important to me than blogging is probably regular exercise, particularly walking and hiking. But I see regular exercise, even when I don’t want to do it, as vital to my health and well-being. Blogging is the mental equivalent of regular exercise. Forcing myself to write here has kept me more alive than I ever thought possible. I suspect I’ve read more for this blog than I read for my undergraduate degree.

Thank you for accompanying me on my journey, no matter how far you’ve walked with me. I sometimes think I bird just to meet fellow birders and to join with them in the appreciation of Nature’s beauty. I keep blogging because I meet the most interesting people here, virtual friends who love literature and ideas as much as I do. I suspect there’s no place in the world where I could find better companions.