I don’t remember where I found this, but it contains a profound set of questions, including: what is the monetary worth of memories?

Meaning, what would you be willing to pay to retain your memories? Is there a price tag you’d place on how far you’d go to preserve your memories — from backing up your photos to treating memory loss? But also, what is the monetary worth of creating memories? Are there price tags you’re willing to pay not just for the experience but also for knowing you’ll have the memory of the experience afterward?

And then it travels into how do you know when you’re creating memories vs. living an experience that you’ll forget about over time? Or what would you do differently to allocate your money so you can spend it on things that create or preserve memories?

Such a thought-provoking read.

And now this blog is really 18 years old. The space has become an old friend as much as the people who read it. I am glad that I started it, glad I continued it, and I can’t really imagine ending it, even though sometimes it feels like there should be a day that I stop typing.

But that’s a decision for another day.

Today, I’m just marking 18 years.

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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:

• “Birth Mom Wants to Be Called Mommy & That’s Not OK with Me” (Lavender Luz)

Okay, now my choices this week.

The Road Less Travelled has good news: She is about to become a great-aunt again. It is super happy news (or, as she says, full of “gleeful anticipation“), but it also comes with a little pregnancy anxiety. I don’t think you can go through what we went through and fully relax with anyone’s pregnancy. Send her a big congratulations.

Lastly, sometimes it feels more commonplace to find complaint posts on the internet, so I especially loved A Separate Life musing about how lucky she is to live where she lives. And, of course, the pictures are beautiful.

The roundup to the Roundup: 18 years of writing this blog. 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 June 14 – 21) 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.

This blog is officially an adult on Friday.

When I started writing it, I thought it would be amazing if I could keep it going for a year or two. But I kept it going for 18 years — 5 posts per week, every week, with very few exceptions.

Building on last year’s post, there are now over 5,700 posts and over 85,000 comments. I cannot begin to calculate how many hours have been spent on this space. I have been writing this blog for 36% of my life. For 90% of the twins’ lives.

I am so grateful to everyone who reads it — for the relationships I built over these 18 years. For the voices who have come and gone (and sometimes come back again). Thank you. For being here.

I felt so many feelings reading this New York Times article on hanging out with friends as an adult. That used to be the activity — the request. “Do you want to come over and hang out?” But now it’s going to dinner or seeing a show or going on a walk.

When you’re a kid with limited funds and modes of transport, hanging out with friends feels natural. But adults are often used to doing scheduled activities with one another … “Often, we don’t think something is beneficial unless it’s productive.”

I also like the idea suggested in the article of meeting on a park bench, creating a neutral third space where people can arrive and leave whenever they need.

I miss long afternoons on someone’s sofa, doing our homework, talking, and just… well… hanging out.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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I love finding old emails when I’m searching for something, and this substack reminded me of the pure pleasure that comes from re-reading old thoughts. If you haven’t excavated your Gmail account recently, follow their instructions, search for a term or phrase, and see what pops up. It’s as good as the memories feature on Facebook for bringing you back to the moment.

P.S. Go down to section V in the substack for their recommendations/instructions for search.

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts connected to businesses or sponsored posts.