An Anniversary 3/28/2021

By: Jennifer Richardson Holt

I can’t believe we’ve made it here. I suppose I should have been optimistic and just felt assured I would get to this point but I readily admit that I do, on occasion, lean slightly to the more pessimistic side of the scale. Not full blown pessimism mind you, but if negativity is red then my persona at times could possibly have a pinkish hue.  We have arrived at the one year anniversary of my writing this blog. I know. I am just as shocked as you my beloved reader!  The fact that there are steadily more people coming here to read what I write is probably is the most astonishing thing to me. I am also slightly surprised by my commitment to having written a blog every week for a year. Not that perseverance is a trait that I don’t normally exhibit but I suppose I am intrigued by the fact that I have been able to come up with a year’s worth of writing that I felt was worth putting out into the universe.  I always knew I could write plenty by way of quantity, it was the quality that I wasn’t certain about.  If I am being honest I am still not certain about it.  Today I guess we’ll just take a look at, well I am not sure what I will be looking at but if I had to summarize I guess this will be just a glance at me, writing.

I feel you’ve all probably picked up on the fact that I revisit or at least skirt around topics that are near and dear to me.  I am not exactly sure on how I am going to combat this in future.  I suppose I will stumble upon something interesting here and there which will supply me with new material but those things that really put a fire of fascination in my belly, well they tend to keep popping up.  I would say they do so like weeds but weeds tend to have a negative connotation and to me that would certainly be inaccurate. Now to you, the reader, it may be a bit on the weedy side to you when old subjects keep reappearing when you’re trying to read a blog.  I hope you don’t look at such things as weeds though. I am hoping they manifest as more of a favorite meal type of scenario that you are always excited to see arrive on the table.  I know you aren’t all interested in the same things I am so it isn’t likely that your passions are ignited by the same things but I’m hoping that if nothing else you can at least enjoy (or at least look around with some endearing mixture of curiosity and whatever feeling it is that my oddity merits.)

I really want this anniversary blog to be all about you guys. I want to get input from all of you.  You’ve seen me write about traditional southern topics, you’ve seen me write about historical things and even food.  You all definitely know that I am all about throwing in as much nature as possible because let’s face it, there is no way you can ever run out of really beautiful things to ramble on about when it comes to that.  What I want from all of you lovely readers is your ideas.  You’ve read my style of writing. You know the things that I love to write about and how I like to write about said things.  Y’all feel free to suggest anything upon any wordy journey on which you would like to see me embark.  I am excited to see if you give me some glorious subject matter that I have carelessly overlooked.  I hope to see many of you leave comments full of treasure of which I prove to make good use.  Also, criticism is welcomed as well if there are things you’ve found here for which you don’t particularly care.  I would have to plead with you that you make it as constructive as you possibly can. I know I am wordy.  While my words are probably a tad on the excessive side, I do ask that you don’t judge them too harshly. Though they are many they are very dear to me.

I am anxious to see what the future holds for these little passages that I leave here.  I only hope I can keep writing something that is enough to keep you here whether it be in interest of content or I suppose even if it is just the inability to look away that occurs when one sees a bad car accident. I suppose readers are readers whatever their motivation.  I am not entirely certain about where I want this blog to go or what I want it to become.  It is now and I suppose always will be most importantly an outlet for all these unnecessary words that apparently could cause me to malfunction if I didn’t have a way to get them out of me.  Maybe one day they will become more. Now, do understand that when I day “more” I really don’t have a clue as to what that exactly means.  I have always said I wanted to write a book.  Does that mean that this blog will turn into that?  I think it could be a case of wishful thinking to make such an assumption, but I suppose anything is possible. I mean after all; I have in fact carried on a weekly blog for a year so wonders never cease. 

One day I have always hoped to write a novel.  Being wordy however, doesn’t mean that the vocabulary floating about in my mind is willing to arrange itself into a coherent story of any length at my command. I do wish it did.  Perhaps one day it will. But, in the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts about what you would like to read here.  As far as for what I wish this blog to be I can say this much safely; I hope this blog is an encouragement.  I hope this blog is a bright spot in what I am well aware can be a shadowy world.  I hope that what I write can merit a smile, a fond memory or simply a slightly lighter frame of mind than what you had when you began reading.  I know I haven’t said much today but I do hope you’ll come back next time. I promise to say something more significant then, or at least knowing me, something more.