Special greetings to all my followers who became friends in cyberspace over the past fifteen years.
Today I am saying a fond farewell to all of you with good memories of our mutual posts which shared who we are, and possibly even who we wished we could be. The first time I discovered I could hit a Publish button on WordPress and send my thoughts to a cyberspace universe I felt a sense of magical power. I had bypassed the perils and rejections of traditional publishing to carry my voice to a group of people who would be thrilled (well, maybe not exactly thrilled, but more than mildly interested) to hear what I had to say.
I began this experiment with cyberspace in August, 2011.Today this post is my 1,160th. with more than 215,000 views over the years and a grand total of 925 subscribers. Some will think those numbers ridiculously paltry in the years of social media, but for a little girl who grew up in Grimes County, Texas, in the 1950s, they are unbelievable. I am thankful for every follower, for each view, and the encouragement you gave me when I wanted to give up.
I found myself unable to quit blogging, regardless of the number of likes and views I had for each post. Perhaps I never achieved the recognition for my writing I originally thought possible, but as the funny guy Jonathan Winters once said, “I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it.”
The good news is I have not been diagnosed with any life changing illness. But this year I find is more difficult for me with my waning eyesight and reduced ability to focus. I set a goal of excellence in my writing – didn’t always get there, but I tried to do my best. Storytelling for what I envision to be an audience of truth lovers isn’t as easy as it sounds, and in today’s world even more challenging.
I have a couple of new ideas for projects which have been on the back burner for a while now. Time is fleeting, turning 80 was a wakeup call to get busy, to step out of what has been a wonderful comfort zone in my third act – what if the final curtain call is closer than I realize, and I didn’t leave everything on the playing field.
When the final curtain does fall, if there is an afterlife I will be pleasantly surprised; but I will be sorely disappointed if I am unable to reunite with Wee Sassy, The Red Man, Smokey Lonesome Ollie, Paw Licker Annie, Tennis Ball Obsessed Chelsea, Big Dog Spike, and Little Guy Carl. I will be waiting for Pretty – for whom I have waited all my life. I will leave her in good hands – those of our beloved son Drew, his amazing wife Caroline and those little hands of our most cherished granddaughters, Ella and Molly, who have been our shared happiness. Charly and the mysterious carport cats will demand her attention every day and shower her with adoration.
My wish for all of you is that you keep your faith in each other, speak your truth, and keep writing. Thank you for being my friend.
Annie Lamott said in her book Bird by Bird: “But I always tell my students that sometimes when my writer friends are working, they feel better and more alive than they do any other time. And sometimes when they are writing well, they feel that they are living up to something. It is as if the right words are already inside them, and they just want to help them get out. Writing this way is a little like milking a cow; the milk is so rich and delicious, and the cow is so glad you did it.”
Onward.
I'll Call It Like I See It 
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