This is NOT a New Year's Resolution

Let's see...carry the one.

The last time I posted was November 30, 2014. 2014! Not 2015, but 2014. And thanks to our friends at the GCC (Gregorian Calendar Commission), it switched to 2016 a few days ago. Plus, if I understand the mission of the GCC, their intent is to keep time moving forward like this for all eternity, so we just have to live with it until another viable competitor can offer other options.

November 30, 2014 was 398 days ago! 398 days is the length of one year, one month and one day. That was the last time I posted. I think I've eaten an entire cow's worth of cheeseburgers since then. That is a long time for someone who earlier that year stated that he was back in the blogging world.

To make it even worse, I only wrote three more posts after that one before taking my 398 day hiatus. I think this is one piece in a long list of evidence that shows I have trouble doing something just to do it. I need a bit more of a reason.

So, here's my reason. I loved writing my blog once I was writing regularly. I found myself thinking about posts all the time. I took notes and pictures during the day for something that would be included in a post later that night or week. I loved it. I enjoyed the creative outlet. However, it wasn't just something I liked. It was part of my daily habit and now that my schedule has changed, I have time to make a new habit. That's why I can claim this is not a New Year's resolution. The timing is just good right now. Resolutions are doomed to fail anyway.

I loved coming up with topics and fashioning my thoughts into something I believed would be worth reading. I would get so excited when I picked up new followers and really enjoyed many of the new friendships (several of which I still maintain) that grew out of this endeavor.

However, the part I enjoyed the most was seeing how my writing was improving because of all the practice I was getting. There was a definite difference between my early posts and the posts two years later. Just like anything else, if you want to get better at something, it takes practice and since I still have the dream of being published one day, I need to practice.

As much much as I remember how much I enjoyed all this, jumping back in doesn't just happen. Those happy memories are not part of my practice anymore. They are just happy memories. I can recapture them, but I have to develop the habit again. So, I have a plan.

For the time being, I am committing to one post per week. Currently, I am off work on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday, so I will use one of those days to write. I will eventually bump it up to two days and then we'll just see where it goes from there.

I figure I have lost the vast majority of my followers who I left behind and will have to earn them back. I also know that in order to do that, I have to do more than write. I also have to re-establish my presence in the blogging community. So, I will be sure to start reading blogs again. That I can do all week long.

So, for the few of you that are left to even notice this post (since it's been over a year since my last one), I look forward to speaking with you all again.