If you read yesterday’s post, you know that I said that even though I have been away from this project for a month, that it has been on my mind for two reasons.  I explained the first reason yesterday, that, unfortunately, I know I wont have Babu around forever to share her history with her, to get her lovely reactions, and to have special time spent with her.  I have thought about the future of this project when she’s gone.  I’ll keep going, learning about her, and memorializing her life.  I’m just hoping to get as much of this done as I can before that happens.

The second reason I’ve been thinking about this project is that I’ve wondered if people who follow our story, Babu’s story mostly, are wondering about this time I’ve been away from the blog?  Nah, I thought, people out there in the blogosphere don’t actually care.  I pulled up the page yesterday and I found this message waiting from Iliona Elliott:

I hope things are well with you and Babu. I suspect maybe not since the blog has gone quiet. Sending good thoughts your way.

This was lovely to see and I started my reply with apologizing for making someone worry.  After I posted yesterday, three more of my “regulars” also commented expressing relief to hear that we were all okay and a connection to what I was writing about.  These comments and the genuine interest and concern reinforced something I really have learned through blogging.  For me, anyway, this has been a touching and welcoming and supportive environment.  Not only are there a plethora of blogs out there explicitly to share experiences with the intent of helping others, abuse victims, people writing who have ailments and disabilities or parent or caretake for those that do, people who suffer from mental illness, or just view the world differently, but people’s interactions are so supportive and wholehearted.  Sure, there are blogs that are clearly reposts from stock images or recipes from the internet.  I have no idea what their ploy is, but there are no warm, real people behind baby animal pic after baby animal pic.  (Although I do love baby animal pics.)  Most, however, are really thoughtful people.  They share good advice and let each other know when they can relate to a once felt unique struggle.

I’m really thankful for you:  and all the other warm bloggers out there.  This is a community I love to come and visit.

SO why be away so long?  I’d love to blame NANOWRIMO.  That is national novel writing month.  It’s a website, it’s a movement!  It’s another lovely and supportive and exciting writing community.  But I can’t blame it entirely because I epically failed at reaching 50,000 words in a month.  In other words, I failed to write a complete novel.  But I got the second one started.  Woohoo!

Yea, that’s not the only reason.  There’s been the new job, holidays, my birthday, ahem, week,

and, drum roll please, my husband broke his collarbone in two places.  He just went for surgery yesterday but broke it last Saturday.  Wow.  So now I’m taking care of both him and Babu and trying to keep this part time job.  (Like how I just made that all about me?)  My sister in law has been saving my life.  She’s covering for us with Babu and I love her for it.  Still, I’m feeling the strain today.  I’m feeling like all I want to do is write.  For this blog, for my other blog, work on my novel, the poem I started yesterday…But I don’t think my new part time job will take that as a reason to call out!  Today and yesterday I felt a little stretched thin, and maybe that’s the reason for yesterday’s post.  But my husband is on the road to recovery and Babu’s skin really looks like it’s clearing up this morning!  So I will continue the quest.  Tonight when I’m home from work I’m going to show Babu new passages, so that’s exciting.

Thank you again to those of you out there that take blogging as a chance to share heartfeltly and to support others when they do so.  Happy December!