500

I knew I was coming up on my 500th blog entry, but I kind of missed it by a few posts. Or maybe I didn't. I'm not sure. I have some drafts lurking around here and there, which might account for some stray entries that didn't necessarily get published. Still, one way or the other, I'm counting this as the celebration of my 500th blog post. So . . . YAY!!!

Yay!

So yes, 500 posts of topics ranging from my mother to politics to cats to walking to being fat to days upon days of anime analysis. Or, practically anything else that comes into my head. Oh, and lots of bitching. I do much of that as well. We have had random art, bad visual aids, links that probably don't work anymore, and my strange wordsmithing.

How do I feel about all of this? Oh, deeply happy. I've stuck to this project for quite a while now and actually manage to really do it. I've regained my writing voice and helped to sort out my thoughts over various topics. Having a blog has afforded me a chance to really speak again.  I let myself get really silent for a long time. I'm glad I'm pulling away from that.

Moreover, if I suddenly drop dead and people miss me, they will have, at the very least, 500 things to go back and read.  That's quite a lot of stuff to leave your loved ones. I'm rather proud of that.

How have I changed in 500 posts? Hmm.....I might be just a slight bit LESS bitter than I used to be. No, really, I think most days I'm far more hopeful. I think I'm slightly less paranoid and freaked out about things. I'm drawing again. I'm writing fiction again.  I feel closer to the mother and grandmother I lost than I have since I lost them. I feel less inclined to deal with bullshit.  I also walk for exercise now.

Anyway, for those of you who read this on a regular basis, thank you so much for reading. It really does mean a lot to me. Here's to 500 more posts.