908th Friday Blog Roundup

I spent the first day of school crying on and off. I cried hard when the kids left the house. Cried harder once Josh left, and I was alone. And then cried whenever I thought about the fact that it was the last first day. I cleaned my face before they came home.

Josh and I made a digital album of all of the first days and gave it to the twins the day before, so I only had one photo to slip in on the actual first day and then zero distractions.

I read a bunch of very mature social media posts from people talking about how they’ll miss their child, but they are ready and their child is ready to spread their wings and fly. You will not read anything like that here. I am a mess. I will be a mess this year. I realized this week that I’m not really interested in not being a mess because… that is who I am. And to change how I feel is to change who I am at the core. To pretend that a different way of being is somehow “better” when it is just… different.

So expect zero maturity. Zero ability to bask serenely while the twins go off into the world. You will read no advice on how to let go gracefully. My only goals this year are to try to be in the moment and not cry in front of them. If I succeed even partway, I’m calling it a win.

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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:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

Finding a Different Path admits sadness bubbles up sometimes. She returns from celebrating her grandmother’s 85th birthday and thinks, “I am so grateful for the life that we live, but it doesn’t erase that when we turn 85 (hopefully), there will be no giant picture of all the descendants. Because there will be no descendants. There will be no family to throw a party and make a speech about the impact our lives have had on the family.” It is a post about being happy with life while still acknowledging the losses we carry with us, and how those two realities exist at the same time, neither one negating the other.

Lastly, one of the nicest things about blogs is that wealth of community wisdom. No Kidding in NZ pulls together a post of it. She looks back on comments from healing posts, giving the reader a 360 view of wisdom between the original post and the comments on it. It’s a fantastic idea.

The roundup to the Roundup: Hard first week. 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 August 26 – September 2) 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.