885th Friday Blog Roundup

March 9th is coming up, and if you’ve been part of the ALI (that’s adoption, loss, infertility) community for a while, you know that March 9th is Random Act of Kindness for Thomas day. Thomas would have been 17 this birthday, and you can celebrate him by putting good into the world. Everything is hard right now. The news is awful. We’re still dealing with the pandemic. Take a moment to do something kind, just because. And do it in his name.

As she writes on her page — and click over to understand the owl reference: “We aren’t trying to reach a specific goal in 2022, but we are still hoping that a huge flock of owls will once again take flight and help us spread kindness on March 9.” So I know what I’m doing March 9.

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Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

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And now the blogs…

But first, second helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “Saying Something in the Moment” (Infertile Phoenix)

Okay, now my choices this week.

No Kidding in NZ explains how she feels when someone asks her if she has children. She talks about everything that goes through her mind, including: “But when I tense myself on hearing the question, and go through all those options for replying, what I am really doing is remembering previous, difficult moments, and hoping to avoid them this time.” But most striking, while people ask the question and want the answer, she points out that they simultaneously “don’t really want to listen to my discomfort over the question.” Food for thought.

PocoBrat laments the size and excitement of birthday celebrations past. She writes: “I’ve been yearning for one of those all-out bashes that used to happen–usually planned and hosted by someone else.” It’s not just the pandemic. It feels like those big birthday bashes dry up in middle age or are only held on milestone birthdays.

Lastly, Movable Type talks about the pond of her mind, “kicking up detritus and sediment to swirl murkily under the serene surface of lily pads and lotus. I remembered a story a friend told me years ago, when we were in college together in the upper Midwest.” It is a moving story that will stick with you as she continues on, explaining how we all have those bruised parts. I love this post.

The roundup to the Roundup: Be kind on March 9. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between February 25 – March 4) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week? Read the original open thread post here.