Au Revoir

I do believe I’ve come to the end of this particular road, folks.

And by that, I mean blogging and BooksEtc.

It’s been a pleasure traveling with you all but it’s time I ventured down a different path. You’ve been a fascinating, wonderful, supportive group. I’ve made many friends – both in the real and virtual worlds. In fact, blogging helped me get through a particularly rough patch in my life.

So why stop now?

I started blogging almost two years ago. When I began I was a different sort of person with a different kind of life. My blog reflects this.

Some changes in life are forced upon you - some changes you must force yourself to make. Both provide opportunity for change. I’m about to attempt the latter. I need to do this.

I’m looking both inward and outward – which seems rather contradictory, doesn’t it? I mean that I’m taking stock of my life - who I am right now, what I want to do and who I want to be in the future. The future I once envisioned no longer exists. I must take the necessary steps to create a new one.

I can no longer just let things happen – and cope. I have to make things happen - discover and create a way of life that feels right for me. Not for others. For me.

This entails less time spent at the computer blogging and more time spent writing. I’ve missed my writing. I’ve neglected it. We shall see if I still possess that creative spark. No more excuses. Extenuating circumstances cannot be blamed for my writer’s block. I have allowed myself to become blocked.

I must also become more involved in things outside myself – in the “real” world. What things? I have certain ideas in mind. Will they pan out? Who knows. But I’m optimistic. And I have to try.

I’m not as nice or as strong or as brave as my blog might have led you to believe. But I am smart enough to recognize that it’s time I made changes in my life. (Actually, I should have done so long ago but I’m not about to burden myself with guilt about this.) Perhaps I’ll begin with baby steps, but still…

I will miss you all – the camaraderie, the laughter, the learning, the reaching out to one another. All of it. But sometimes you just know that moving on is the best thing to do.

Having said all this, I don’t plan on deleting BooksEtc. If I’ve learned nothing else these past two years, I’ve learned that the unexpected can occur. I could be back. Not any time soon, but some day. (Perhaps with a new blog?)

Hence, the post title – Au Revoir – which, although it means “good-bye” in French, also (loosely) translates as, “until we see one another again.”

(Dear God, this post is long. In terms of my rusty writing skills, I must at least take a refresher course in editing.)

My thanks and best wishes to you all.

And I’ll simply end with “Au Revoir.”