Category — Friday Blog Roundup

If I was a clever person, I would write a blog-focused version of Twas the Night Before Christmas, but I’m not clever, and I would need to Google for the original words to that poem.

So instead I’ll tell you that I hope you have a wonderful holiday if you’re celebrating tonight. And if not, we’re marking the night with Jólabókaflóðið, the Icelandic book flood. So there are at least books to celebrate.

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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.

The Road Less Travelled has made it home for the holidays. She didn’t know if she’d be able to go (and there was some chaos with uploading the vaccine cards), but she got there. I really appreciate these posts — not just to know how people are celebrating the holidays but because they become a time capsule of the experience. Glad she gets to celebrate with her family.

FinallyMyLinesNow continues the story of her child’s birth with more details about her hysterectomy. She writes, “So that whole uterus thing? Yeah. It’s gone. I’m not really in a coherent place when it comes to my feelings on the subject. I’m angry and sad and guilty.” It happened a few weeks after the birth, and she asks: “How do you grieve losing something you no longer needed, but still deeply wanted?” No good answers, but abiding with her.

Lastly, Baby With a Twist continues to process her grief. She ties together her personal loss to the season: “In some ways, there is an inherent loneliness built into this time of the year that our celebrations are trying to stave off. Safety in numbers at the very least. But there is a part of me that has always been attracted to the darkness and that feeling of being alone (not that I want to be alone).” A moving thought and a lot of love sent out into the universe to her and anyone else grieving right now.

The roundup to the Roundup: Have a wonderful holiday (if you celebrate). 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 December 17 – December 24) 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.

We are crawling towards winter break. Josh was able to schedule booster appointments for the twins because it’s the hap-happiest season of all. Part of me didn’t want to wait — we can do walk-in appointments at the pharmacy — but they were worried about feeling crappy afterward and not wanting to miss school before break. So we’ll kickoff break with a protection celebration.

We are not going anywhere, and we do not have anything we need to do. So we’re going to take break to watch television, go through old photos, read books, and laze about eating candy. I cannot wait.

*******

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. In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “Ufmünterli” (Elaine ohne Kind)
• “Review: Reclaiming the Childless Holidays” (Infertile Phoenix)

Okay, now my choices this week.

No Kidding in NZ has some seasonal thoughts of the reclaiming-the-holiday variety. She talks about her upcoming holiday and states: “I like to honour those little sparks of life who never made it here, but who helped make me who I am today. The best way I can do that is to embrace the life I have now, and live a good life.” I love that.

Grumpy Rumblings has some seasonal thoughts of the pandemic variety. She is forced to do COVID-math over and over again as plans change due to both new, external risks — omicron — and different choices by family members. It’s such stressful math because you’re balancing safety and feelings. I’m just glad people are writing about it and talking it out. Especially smart: “We’ve been going through potential scenarios so we don’t have to make decisions in the moment. What if SIL’s kids have obvious colds? What do we do? What if one of us gets sick, what do we do?”

Lastly, FinallyMyLinesNow returns with an update, a new baby, and a missing uterus. She tells the story over a few parts. It’s just a relief that they’re home and everyone is well.

The roundup to the Roundup: Winter break is coming. 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 December 10 – December 17) 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.

I would describe my booster shot as really-really-not-good. I mean, when I first got it, I felt invincible. If I had been in a game of Super Mario Bros, I would have hit my head on every brick wall and coins would have come out.

About ten hours later, I had a sore arm and chills. I took Tylenol and slept. And then I spent about 24 hours after that feeling like complete dreck. I had a low fever, my arm hurt, my body hurt, I was freezing, I couldn’t get comfortable.

And I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Because 48 hours later, I’m fine. And I know that wouldn’t be the case if I got COVID-19. So thank you, science, for inventing vaccines that protect people. And I don’t take it for granted that we are so lucky that it is easy to get vaccines here.

*******

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.

*******

And now the blogs…

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

• “It’s Not You” (Infertile Phoenix)
• “The Welcome Table: An Annual Online Thanksgiving Meal” (Stirrup Queens) — thanks, Jess!

Okay, now my choices this week.

Don’t miss the MSNBC article about the Childless Not by Choice community. It’s a great write-up featuring some bloggers you know and love.

Dubliner in Deutschland writes about life in Germany. I love reading a little slice of life in another country. She writes: “December 6th is known as Nokolaustag. This is a tradition that was new to me as we don’t have it in Ireland. The evening before Nikolaustag the children are meant to clean their boots and leave them out and Nikolaus comes around and fills them with little treats/presents.” This sounds exactly like Befana Day on January 6th! Which means I totally have to celebrate it next year because that will give me two chances for chocolate.

By the Brooke marks Eliza’s 11th birthday, starting with a beautiful quote from Redneck Mommy. She writes: “Any day is a day without her, and I’ve already had a thousand days. 4,015, to be exact (or not exact, because I’m not figuring in leap years). And yet this is the day where my throat feels tight and my temper feels short and my heart feels heavy.” Go abide with her as she remembers.

This teeny tiny post by Movable Type is exactly how I feel in this moment. And like her: “It’s just too much. I don’t know where to start in on my work today. Maybe I just need to make a list.” Amen to lists.

The roundup to the Roundup: Booster complete. 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 December 3 – December 10) 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.

I’m joining the cool kids and getting my booster next week. Unlike last time when we needed to drive an hour away (twice), we have appointments nearby. I’ve cleared a day in case I don’t feel well, have books and television at the ready, and I am prepared to become extra protected.

Though still not taking off my mask. Or doing anything different. But if they’re passing out boosters, I’d love to take a booster.

*******

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.

*******

And now the blogs…

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

• “#MicroblogMondays: Things I Haven’t Done Since the Pandemic Began” (The Road Less Travelled)

Okay, now my choices this week.

The Next 15000 Days talks about a work friend who knows her story. The woman is experiencing infertility, and she talks about it with everyone except Klara. She writes, “But the interesting thing is that she didn’t want to discuss infertility with me. And I was actually the only person in the group who has experiences with infertility.” It’s an interesting situation—would you want to confide in the person who may understand or the people who probably won’t?

By the Brooke returns with an update post. She explains: “So I’ve hesitated to return here to post… anything. Do I want a dramatic good-bye post? But what if I want to come back? How do I even begin to write a post knowing it would be the final blog post?” It’s not a goodbye, but it is a placeholder post, keeping the space open in case she feels moved to return.

Lastly, Finding a Different Path writes about holiday traditions. It’s an important post to read if you’re feeling lost this season. She writes about Christmas, “It used to be a horrid reminder of all we lost. But, I think about our new house and our new prelit tree and all the ways that we have made the holidays ours, enjoyable for what they are and not what they could have been but weren’t.” It’s lovely and filled with hope.

The roundup to the Roundup: Getting boosted. 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 November 19 – December 3) 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.

Josh and I slipped away to the beach last weekend. We chose the beach based on the community caseload. We chose the hotel because they had super restrictive COVID-19 protocols. We chose the activities based on the weather. We lowered our expectations, and the vacation rose up to meet us.

I felt my body relax as we sat in the car, facing the ocean, protected by the wind with good books and lime tortilla chips. I felt my shoulders lower and my stomach unclench. We rode bikes through the wildlife refuge, looking for raccoons. We ate ice cream in the room and watched episodes of White Lotus on a tiny screen.

On the last day, I decided that seeing a cormorant would be good luck. Josh thought he saw a cormorant, but he didn’t stop the car, so we decided it didn’t count. As we were leaving the beach, we saw people gathered near a stream, photographing something. Josh pulled over, but only I got out of the car, slipping on my mask and pulling out my binoculars.

I went to the edge and saw that while the people were all photographing a heron, there were also two cormorants paddling around. One took off right when I got there, and the other swam around aimlessly like it was trying to decide whether or not to leave as well. “Is it a cormorant?” I checked with a man standing nearby. He looked over at the black bird. “Yes, a cormorant.”

“I love you, cormorant,” I called out to the bird.

The man gave me a look and moved away.

I’ve learned a lot of things during the pandemic, but maybe the most important one is to spread love, not germs. Even to cormorants.

*******

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 in order to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

*******

And now the blogs…

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

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

Pics and Posts has a lovely reminder to get through stressful times. I agree with her: “I’m convinced that besides the loss and trauma of this moment, much of our sense of overwhelm and anxiety comes from our rush to normal—exacerbated by our not taking time to sit with and process our grief.” Finding those quiet moments of peace in the storm.

In Quest of a Binky Moongee has a post about a moment she never thought she’s see. Her friend has a similar journey of donor eggs and a gestational carrier, and they finally got a chance (thwarted initially by the pandemic) to bring their kids together. She writes, “I think about all the heartaches that the both of us had and how long and how twisted our roads were. The two people who didn’t know whether we’d become mothers have the privilege to see our children play together.” Such a beautiful moment captured.

Lastly, I missed this post by The Barreness last week and only read it this week. She talks about going in for a host of medical exams and the feelings they raised; especially the gynecological exam. She explains: “I know that a lot of my feelings are surfacing from my IF days, when I had most of the people from my county in my vagina, looking around and giving opinions. I can put on a mask, swallow pain, discomfort and make little jokes to deflect real feelings… but I am not so okay with doing that anymore.” She also has questions — go over and see if you’ve experienced something similar.

The roundup to the Roundup: I love cormorants. 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 November 12 – 19) 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.