Nearly 40 million blog posts were published on WordPress alone in October, 2013. You know when the airplane is taxing to the gate and the flight attendant says “We know you have a choice…thanks for flying with us…”? You know what I’m talking about, right?
It is funny to reflect upon the life of this trivial little undertaking of a blog and to know, with absolutely certainty that you are here, reading. In some cases, you’ve been here for over a decade (I’m looking at you, Marilyn). My inbox tells me that some of you showed up in the middle of last month, out of seemingly nowhere, or you were in my classes at either Book Passage or TBEX and came by to see what phrases I use to furnish my virtual home. It’s amazing to me that you’re here at all, and that’s not me being disingenuous, it’s more a mathematical question, a Drake Equation sort wonder around the fact that given the sheer quantity of noise out there, you should land here where my words are, where hopefully, you find the life intelligent (if a bit cranky) from time to time.
To say that I am grateful for your continued presence here is insufficient — it is nothing short of miraculous to me that you bother to come back, again and again. When you bother to scribble me a few words in reply, or send me a note to let me know something I wrote made you raise an eyebrow, well, I’m genuinely amazed you take the time to do that. I’m grateful when you thoughtfully disagree or fact check me or add something I didn’t know to the conversations that take place here. I’m grateful for the stories you share. I’m grateful for the editors who, after reading my work here, decided to hire me to write for them, go figure! I’m grateful whenever you find my work worth sharing elsewhere; I never expect it to see the light of day beyond where it is now, and when you think it’s valuable enough to bring it to others, I’m grateful. I’m especially grateful for the deep and genuine friendships that have evolved from smart ass funny comments, witty banter, back channel chatter.
The web today is so different from the one I waded into over a decade ago. But this one thing remains very much the same: I am deeply and genuinely thankful for all the support you have given me, whether it started yesterday or over ten years ago. It’s Thanksgiving here in the US — and while every day is a good day to say it, today, it’s especially appropriate.
Thank you.
Image: Vintage Thanksgiving magazine ad or documentary photo from my house, today. You decide.
I’m so glad to know you, Pam, and to know that we can chew around weighty issues over great breakfasts here in Seattle.
What is about you + your ability to reduce me to tears on a whim??
My life is better for knowing you – especially the snarkiness 🙂
well, I only found you a couple of months ago, and I’m grateful for that. there are not too many well-written and honest blogs out there. and out of the few that are, I guess we all choose who we can relate to. so thank you xo
You are a delight!
I’m grateful for your friendship, for unrepeatable rants written from far-flung places, for great hugs, and for that red couch. xx
Dear Pam, your blog was recommended by Andrew Evans and Marilyn Terrel as writing they really liked.
So I found your blog and was delighted. You are a wonderful writer – far better than most out there. I do not comment very often but I love your work. Your use of language combined with perception and humor is fabulous!
Thank you.