Wednesday, February 11, 2009

this is it...

my six-hundredth post. i can't quite believe i've written six hundred blogs in just about two and a half years.

unlike a lot of writers, a lot of seekers, a lot of women, i've never kept a journal. i don't do Morning Pages, i don't record my endless ruminations with Spirit. most of what i think about flows in and out of my consciousness as easily as water flowing downstream. what sticks, sticks, and what doesn't, doesn't. i've never been one to navel-gaze nor to spend a lot of time worrying about things that either may never come to be or over which i have no control.

and then i opened a fortune cookie and the scrap inside said, "no one will remember you for your secret thoughts."

ripeness, as shakespeare wrote in king lear, is all.

i'd reached what felt like a pivot point in my life - i was moving my grandmother up to be closer to me for the last year of her life, my first grandchild was poised to be born. my best friend had died just a few months before, and i missed her (and still do) quite sorely. and even as my own ability to connect with the dead, to hear their voices, was developing, i was becoming acutely aware of what it was to miss someone who wasn't ever coming back, not in their familiar form, anyway.

and so, i turned to blogging. not for myself - i don't often go back to read my blogs, though i love to read my books :) - but for my children, my grandchildren, for my great-grandchildren, who might wonder someday, as i so often have, who the people really were who made me who i am. that i have made connections that span continents and oceans is a benefit i wasn't expecting, that i have "met" so many delightful kindred souls is a blessing i didn't think to receive. that i have inspired more than a few to start blogging tickles me to no end.

because blogging, as i pointed out to my brother john the other day, is about expressing. it's not necessarily creative - not as i think of it, anyway - though there are surely a lot of very creative bloggers - it's primarily expressive. it encourages people to step out of the shadows, to shine their Light in the dark void of the internet, to share, if only in a few paragraphs, the Reality at the center of their souls.

thank you to all the lovely people who've played in my superawesome giveaway by posting comments and becoming followers, adding my button or posting about the giveaway. i hope you'll keep coming back. i've loved finding your blogs and reading about your lives. i enjoy getting to know you, and learning about all the amazing people out there all over the world. you make me laugh and cry and everything in between, and mostly stand in awe of the incredible diversity of what it means to have this human experience. thank you so very much.

and now... the winner of last week's ten-things-you-like-about-you is...(drum roll, please)...MARITZIA!!!!!! please email me your snail mail address so i can send you your purple fingerless gloves!!!

i will announce the winner of the SUPERAWESOME GIVEAWAY in the next post or two - im still counting up the entries to see who had the most for the runner-up prize!

hugs and kisses to everyone who came and played... please come back and play again! and in the meantime... blog on!

and furthermore, the war WILL end. blessed be.

30 comments:

Kristin said...

Congrats to the winner. I love the outlook you have on blogging. I too rarely re read my posts. I like to express what is on my mind and then it is gone. I do like reading others blogs and peaking inside the lives of others. How voyeuristic of me.

Alvis said...

Congratulations on your 600th post. From someone who hasn't yet kept a blog going for long, that's quite an accomplishment to me.

Laura Rose said...

congrats on number 600!!! Happy wed. and here's to feeling better!

April said...

600 posts, huh? And I thought I was doing well with 200! CONGRATULATIONS and a big shout out to the lucky winner! Hope you're feeling better!

Kathy said...

I am very glad that I found your blog. You continue to inspire me, stimulate my mind, amuse me, and sometimes make me cry. Thank you.

Week one day 4 of eating the angel way.

Nessa said...

Congrats on this awesome milestone!

I am coming up on my 300th post and one year blog anniversary.

Mamarazzi said...

congrats to the winner! fabulous!

and congrats to you...600 posts is an amazing accomplishment.

i love the quote about secret thoughts...wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Congrats, annie!!

And when you go to pitch your angel eating book, you can now tell them about your awesome, long-lasting blog, and the platform you have established for getting the word out about this fantastic, healthy way of eating!

I see... book deals in your future....

(patiently awaiting pages, btw)

koopermom said...

Congrats on your 600th post! It is quite an accomplishment!!

rose AKA Walk in the Woods - she/her said...

Congrats Maritza for winning the 10-things fingerless gloves! I LOVE fingerless gloves - always have. Enjoy!

Allison said...

Congratulations! Thanks for blogging.

lynette355 said...

WOW 600. Your awesome on your blog. I love reading you every day! And this is a great legacy to your grand children. Wonder if there will be internet many years from now?

Well I wonder if I have commented the most? I know I have not missed a post.

Summer said...

Congrats to you!

I love the fortune cookie saying. I whole heartedly believe that!

Lea said...

600 posts! Wow my friend, that's amazing! On my 100th post I wrote 100 things that you may or may not know about me... but there was so much more to share, for a few days I shared a few more things about me that people didn't know...

You should write 600 things about yourself! 600 one word things. That would certainly be interesting! Not to mention time consuming, so maybe not such a good idea LOL. Hey, I'm blond, I have an excuse. ;)

jennifersusan said...

Congratulations on your 600th post! Wow! I can't even imagine getting to my 100th post, let alone 600. I've had a great time reading and look forward to reading more! Thanks for sharing with all of us in cyberspace. :)

Barely Domestic Mama said...

Congratulations on your 600th blog! This was a really great post.

I hope you feel better soon. And yes Valentine's Day is on Saturday...so I suggest you start shopping soon. :)

Mindy said...

Congrats to Maritzia on winning the 10 Things I Like About Me =)

And Congrats to you on your 600th post!! HOLY MOLY! I can't imagine hitting that mark, although if I keep this up I suppose I will =) I can't wait to see who the big winner will be!!

Oh and I'm so glad that you liked your scarf... It's my most colorful scarf yet! I have since made quite an ugly sweater, made of all the left over wool yarn that I had in my basket. I'll have to take a picture and post it! It's quite Funky =)

Divaeva said...

*cheers* yay for 600th!
I look forward to 600 more!
Congrats Maritza - enjoy your awesome gloves! <3

Carolyn G said...

Congrats on the 600th!!! I can only aspire to one day do my 600th post. I love reading your blog. Thanks and I can't wait for your 1,200 post!

Stacy Uncorked said...

CONGRATS on your 600th post, Annie! :) I'm slowly closing in on my 200th - my 100th went right on by without any fanfare because I didn't' realize I had posted that many...LOL!! :)

Love your outlook on blogging - that's pretty much my outlook as well. :)

Grace said...

Congrats to Maritzia.
Happy 600th post. Keep blogging for us, Annie. We love so much reading them. :)

Debie Napoleon said...

Wow, I am so inspired by your awesomeness! I love reading your thoughts and am so glad that you are on my favorite blog list!

I look forward to reading another 600 posts from you!

Martha@A Sense of Humor is Essential said...

Congrats to the winner! Lovely post and I am not a journal keeper either. I hope you feel better, I hope to speak with you tomorrow.

Martha@A Sense of Humor is Essential said...

I tagged you for two awards and a meme, please stop by when you can for details. Thank you!

Crazee Juls said...

Congrats on your 600th post... This "to step out of the shadows, to shine their Light in the dark void of the internet, to share, if only in a few paragraphs, the Reality at the center of their souls. " really hit me as I was reading...
It seems that nearly every blog I visit, I see that you've left a comment there, always with some encouragment... so I can see why you've brightened souls... and I've never "met" someone who could communicate with those who've passed on... Oh, if I could only have just a few minutes with my Mamaw... to see if she thinks I'm as crazy as I think I am...if she thinks I'm doing a good job as a wife & mom... she died when I was 15, before I could really appreciate her for the woman she was. (Sorry, didn't mean to write a book there)..Anyway, congratulations!

lynette355 said...

Thanks again for letting me know I won an autograph copy of Silver's Lure. I am so excited. You are my favorite blog to read if you was not aware of it.

Kristina said...

wow, what a great post. Imagine a fortune cookie helping to change your life?! I love reading your posts, you're an awesome writer, great at expressing yourself, and most of all making the think in a new way for myself. I love meeting new people through blogs that I probably never would have gotten to know in any other way than through this huge internet network, that with each friend I make seems a little bit smaller and more intimate.

Kristen said...

Popped over from Mamarazzi.
WOW 600 that's big! Blogging is my way of journaling my life and the first for keeping a journal.

Missy Glave said...

Congratulations on your 600th post ...

I love reading your blog ... I do not often get a chance because with my dial-up internet connection (read sllllloooow) every time I come to your blog it times out for some reason. This morning I have my husband's wireless card, so I can visit!!

I'm so happy to have found your blog!

Diana of Diana Rambles said...

Congratulations on 600!!!