Some years back when I was a much younger man I would have been in the shower now preparing for a night on the town. Or maybe I would have been sitting at the beach drinking some beers with the guys, shooting the breeze and trying to decide if any of the girls that were with us might be interested in taking a walk along the water.
I am sitting upstairs while my teenage son sleeps on the couch. The not to little mister spent Friday night at a friend’s house and stayed up late enough to need a two hour nap.
He and I were going to hang out tonight. We hadn’t made plans that were any more specific than grabbing a father/son meal and maybe watching a movie but I am flexible.
Can’t say I am upset because I am not. I love watching the kid grow and have his own experiences and I know my time is limited. Won’t be long before the Saturday night with dad option won’t sound so interesting.
I’ll let him sleep a bit longer but not much because that growling noise in my stomach is getting louder and I tend to hit that place between cranky and hangry far too quickly.
Dusting Off The Shelves
Been dusting off the shelves around here. Been looking at old posts and trying to make sure they have photos and are properly SEO optimized.
I have been reading what I have written again and thinking about which posts might be of interest to new readers. Been doing my normal hemming and hawing about which posts I think serve as the best examples of my writing so that I can feature them.
Might be time to start stirring things up again, might be time to try and grab some more freelance work and remind some people I am still around.
The online world is a funny and fickle place.  If you don’t toot your horn every now and then people forget about you. That is not always a bad thing but if you want to have a shot at some of the opportunities that get passed around you need to be that squeaky wheel.
 A Rambling Apology
That queen of mine, the one I call The Shmata Queen who was once a blogger told me I rambled in my apology.
I told if he she doesn’t like it she can visit the complaint department or come sit on my lap and talk about it. She’ll probably choose to sit on my lap because she loves the sound of my voice almost as much as she loves my writing.
Did I mention that she said I shouldn’t taunt, bait or do things to annoy her? Did I add that she just can’t help loving me.
Yeah, I am pushing things a bit but if I didn’t she would wonder if someone kidnapped me.
Maybe one  of these days she’ll tell me which posts she likes best and will provide specific details. I mostly trust her opinion.
BTW boys, if you use expressions like mostly trust in reference to a woman you will hear about it. Would probably hear about from a man too, but I promise you that mostly trust is one of those expressions that jumps out at women.
Writing Is Not The Hardest Part Of Blogging
I am going to run some more posts about writing and blogging again, like the one in the subhead. I’ll probably write some more fiction and I’ll definitely include some more that are focused on the whole parenting thing but I think the writing stuff deserves some air time.
That is because it is the foundation upon which all of these stories rest. That teen of mine can sleep on the floor, wake up, stretch once and feel great because his young body hasn’t lost any elasticity but that is not always true of every blog post.
Some of these seem to forget that there needs to be a beginning, middle and end or they don’t just work the way we want them to.
Part of the reason why I go through old links is to try and see what I did right and what I didn’t.
Talent only takes you so far but the people who know how to work hard and grind it out in the trenches as well as glide to the basket are the ones who see real success.
Don’t know if I realized that back in those summer nights spent on the beach. I want to say I did but hell if I can really remember that part.
Got to run now, my ten minutes is up and I am hungry. Leave a comment and I’ll see you there.
Bill Dorman
Toot, toot; somehow you have to shake it up because after awhile a lot of this looks the same. Looking back at my posts, some might think I haven’t grown at all…
Jack
I think you did. I think you have a bunch of posts that show that.
Larry
Yes, you do have to be that squeaky wheel. For me, it’s the hardest part. I agree with you that blogging is not the hardest part of blogging.
Jack
It is a bit uncomfortable for some, but if you don’t toot your horn you risk being missed.
Sebastian Aiden Daniels
I hope you got that food in you so you didn’t become like a person in one of those Snickers commercials.
It is interesting to look at the stages of our lives and to see how things change. Life goes by so fast. I am sure your young self on the beach never pictured a future of where you are at right now. A year ago I would have been surprised if someone had told me where I’d be at now.
“Mostly trust”
I don’t understand women that well haha.
Jack
Try using it with someone you are dating and see what happens. “Mostly trust” is a wonderful conversation starter. 😉