Well, I just couldn't stay away. Rejoice or mourn, as you wish!
Three months ago, I really intended to end this blog. In fact, I eventually deleted the whole thing and packed it away on my hard drive in an .xml file, archived for my eyes only. On the "Internets," it was no more. "Shadows & Light" was a dead link.
But recently, a couple of things made me think maybe this wasn't the best idea.
First, I missed the wisdom and camaraderie of my blogging pals. I tried to keep up with their blogs, but it's just not the same when all the communication travels one way. You lose that collegial bond.
Second, I undoubtedly missed having an outlet to record and reflect on the stuff going on in my life. I have had a crazy couple of months! The newspaper industry is imploding, making my career look like it could go slip-sliding away at any moment. At the same time, I took a terrific two-week trip to India and also had a good long stay in Florida for the holidays. Ups, downs, the minutiae of daily existence, and nowhere to tell my tales.
Third, I had a very compelling exchange with a blogger pal of mine about the wisdom of deleting a blog. I argued that in my case I felt I'd outgrown my blog, that it didn't really reflect my life, blah blah blah. My friend said quite wisely that NO blog could completely reflect its writer's life, but blogs are still valuable chronicles of what rises to the surface. "The things we humans create gain meaning and context through time and distance," he said. "We often can't judge them ourselves, or immediately ... and that goes for something even as seemingly innocuous or silly as a blog."
I got to thinking about all the work I'd put into it, and all the people who said they enjoyed it.
Fortunately, Blogger offers a handy tool called "Import," with which you can upload your archived .xml file and, basically, recreate a deleted blog. So here I am, realizing that I'm the "blogger who cried wolf" and I've probably alienated all my readers. All I can say is, let's start fresh! More about that later...
(Photo: A discarded bouquet on the sidewalk in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India, January 2009)
Welcome back from the Blogger dead! I've missed you so much. I loved it when you stopped by my Blog, but the incentive isn't there when you don't have one of your own and I felt you slipping away.
ReplyDeleteI've lately had similar thoughts about quitting, especially about freeing up a chunk of time. But I love the fact that my life is somehow being recorded, so for a while I'm still in as well.
Hopefully your break from Blogging and the big welcome back you're going to get from your Blogger friends will be enough to jump-start you and keep you going for a while!
Welcome back, I've missed you.
ReplyDeleteyeah!!! ditto to what merle said....
ReplyDeletea while ago, missing you I popped over to S&L intending to reread a random post, I found it was GONE! it was an awful feeling - a real 451 moment.... poof it was like all those wonderful observations and images you threw out to the universe went up in smoke!
happy you had the wisdom (and knowledge) to save the original s&l and blogger had the function to allow you to bring it back.
to your return!! here! hear!
Welcome back, handsome. :)
ReplyDeleteI thought that wise friend must have been Reya but 'she' is not a 'he' so there goes that. It seems Reyaesque.
ReplyDeletewhat a perfect photo for this
ReplyDeleteinnocuous? silly? you Steve?
so glad you are blogging again
WOOHOO! You are a God among mortals...
ReplyDeleteOkay, now I have to catch up! You're not the first friend of mine to retire and then come back (and I'm not talking about Cher or Streisand). I always loved your photos and words and look forward to getting current.
ReplyDeleteOMG, I missed you so much... and you've been back, and I haven't seen you!!!
ReplyDelete:::Laugh::: Ok, ok... I'll simmer down. I'm just glad that you are posting again, because I really love your photos and your insight. I scrolled back to the re-beginning so I can look at your Spring photos and bring myself up-to-date. Welcome back!