The time has come to say a quick goodbye, and we can do it in the Irish fashion if that makes you feel better, or we can do it with a big virtual hug and accompanying fanfare. However you wish to bid adieu, be my guest. For a couple of years, I took the entire summer off from blogging and it was, no offense, absolute bliss. Heavenly divinity. Fucking awesome. Like a summer vacation I haven’t had since I graduated from college way back in the 90’s. That probably says more about my piss-poor attitude than it does about your reading preferences. Regardless, it was a lovely break of rejuvenation that recalled the responsibility-free summers of my childhood.
The relaxation.
Not bound by deadlines or postings or any self-inflicted schedule.
Not restricted by story arcs or overarching themes.
Not tied or tethered to one port when a world of different seas beckoned to everyone else.
This year I kind of want that again, especially in the heat of the moment. Let’s face it, this heated state of the world is not a place for subtlety, nuance, intelligence or grace. I like to think that at my best I’m a little bit of all of those things. I like to think that at its best this blog is a place for such things. A place for play, for exploration, for salaciousness, for silliness, for beauty, for stillness, for fun. In order to have all these things, however, I have to work and create and write and edit and take photos and make an ass of myself. You might well imagine that being me comes with its own set of challenges, and you would still have little to no idea what it fully encompasses. This is not a complaint, merely a statement of truth. That too seems to have no place in the world anymore.
Yet as I write this, I realize that the act of creating, of writing, or making something, adds to the inspiration. It’s sort of the opposite of what happens when you get too accustomed to staying home and doing nothing. It zaps your energy, draining you of the impetus to keep going. For most of my life I swore if I could afford an existence of leisure where I didn’t have to do anything but lounge around and daintily feed myself bon-bons that I’d be happy. I realize now, perhaps just in time, that it’s not true.
And so, this goodbye is for today only. I’ll be back tomorrow. And back for most days of the summer. I haven’t quite decided to give up on everything just yet. I’ll keep on keeping on because in the face of all that’s wrong in the world, telling the truth – even if it’s the most insignificant little truth of my insignificant little life – still has value to some, and it still holds immeasurable value for me. Meet me back here tomorrow… and for the rest of the summer.
