It has been six months since my last blog post. At first, I forgot it was Friday. Then I remembered (I think it was a Tuesday) and so waited until Friday to post. Then I wasn't feeling well on Friday, so didn't post again.
Then, after a couple weeks of that, I began to get used to the idea of not blogging. After all, at my age, a web-log is still a foreign idea. It didn't come at all naturally after fifty-six years of making decisions. So I didn't naturally just fall back into the habit.
But here I am now. Do I have something to say? I think I do. I think I'm ready to re-enter the blogoverse. Today is Friday, and this afternoon, my husband and I will drive across town to the Sheraton Airport Hotel, and register for Bubonicon. We are going to spend the weekend rubbing elbows with writers, fans, and people in costumes. We are going to attend panels, and regain the strength to keep writing. Isn't that why we go to conventions? To revel in our own Geekitude?
At least, that's why I go. I observe people, listen to conversations, and relax into the idea that I'm not the only one. There are many of us, and we support each other in our own form of Geek.
I haven't been to a convention since May. We planned it this way, because next week we are flying out to Atlanta for DragonCon, and we had to save up for the experience. But I didn't plan for the gap between May and September to be so arid and writing-free. I know there are many reasons, but the largest looming one is that while we had a blast at ConDuit in Salt Lake City, and we really loved seeing all our Utah friends, it doesn't change the fact that on the Monday after the Con, my father passed away. It was really a great blessing that he waited for me to be in Utah, and then for me to finish up my responsibilities at the Con before anything really serious happened.
My father was 80 years old, and suffering from a form of cystic fibrosis. He had been dying for almost 9 years, and nobody was surprised. In fact, we were somewhat relieved because he was not happy with the restrictions the disease brought into his life. And my mother, his primary caregiver, had a hard time as well. His passing meant that he was no longer in pain or restricted to his bedroom, and that my mother could go out into the world again.
What I didn't anticipate was my doldrums. I miss my dad. It's not like I live in Utah where he was at, or that I got to see him more often than every couple of months. But I know that he's no longer a phone call away. It has taken some getting used to.
But now, I think I've broken the ice wall that had built up between me and the blog. I can blog next Friday as well. I will be in Georgia by then, but I can post from there. In other words, I'm back, and I'm here to stay.
