Four Frail Years

I was wandering through the background of my blog looking at statistics when I realized I’ve been doing this for four years now. I started in September 2011 after enjoying my daughter’s blog and missing it when she stopped. This is the 1,719^th post I’ve written. This was my first entry:

“I'm not sure where this is headed but I was inspired to start this blog by my daughter, a truly gifted writer. I've discovered, relatively late in life, that I enjoy writing.  I'm a retired Army officer still learning how to be a civilian again.  I am still figuring out how to construct this thing, no bells and whistles until my daughter is available for tutorials.  I plan on just passing on observations and comments and hope to say something worthwhile.  You will be the judge but I reserve the right to overturn all convictions. Out for now.”

It’s interesting to look back because it provides a sightline of the time bridged used to get where I’m presently. The past four years have certainly provided an abundance of subject matter: I’ve changed houses, changed jobs, the MEG arrived on the scene to rapidly transition first to the MEF and ultimately the ABFA, my son changed jobs so he didn’t have to wander all over the globe and bought his first house, my inspirational daughter pulled up stakes in her beloved New York City and moved to the Los Angeles environs that produced the redoubtable WingMan and ultimately The First Blog Reader!

So a lot has gone on in the past few years. More than anything else this blog provided a chance to stay connected with friends and family more than my normal reticence previously permitted. As Keene Friend so eloquently stated early in the process, “He has feelings. Who knew?!” Sometimes when you examine how you react to things you learn more about yourself. I think it’s called insight, but don’t quote me. I’ve thought at times to give it up; especially when I read what really good writers produce but at this point I would miss doing it. I don’t have any illusions about the quality but I like putting things out there and seeing that someone on the other side of the earth took a moment to read it. This effort has now evolved to a letter to my future grandchildren (hence the First Blog Reader appellation) when they’re old enough to understand the context. At the rate they are appearing I will be long in the ground at that point.

One of my first entries was about finding that elusive “home” that I left so many years ago when I joined the Army. I’ve discovered that home. I made the mistake of assuming it was a geographical location. While that might be a very small part of it, home is the people you surround yourself with. These last ten years have been the best of my life precisely because of the people I’m fortunate enough to call friends and that certainly includes family members (kind of cool when they satisfy both titles). So thank you to all those fabulous individuals that make getting up every day such a pleasure. A partial and certainly incomplete list: my favorite Panamanian, Cali-Daughter, Favorite Son, WingMan, the ABFA, Sisters 1 & 2, Keene Friends 1 & 2, Cantankerous Friend, Pittsburgh College Roommate, the Musqueteras; Buddy – AKA the Wonder Pooch, all the various incarnations of the PanaGals, the Panamanian/Latin Mafia, my Excellent Boss, Sister’s magnificent in law’s (even the arcane one), the always special cousins, First Friday Compadres, High School Classmates, Pub Crawlers, and so many, many more. Thank you for helping me find my home.