A little extra effort

In a bit more than the last year I admit to phoning it in about, oh, um…let me think, almost 91.75% of the time (don’t make me show my work, but trust that is an actual calculation). In my defense, in that time I lost one aunt, two uncles, my dad’s cousin who felt like an aunt (at least) and my brother-in-law. Also, in between all of that a very sweet attorney in our building who shared my appreciation of the local eagle nest passed away - I will never drive by there and not think of him. They were mostly my family and I knew them for all or at least most of my life. My circle was small, and it has been decimated. Other than my dad, there is no older generation left in my family and I guess that’s the natural course of things, but I really don’t think the timing is fair. For me or them.
So anyway, during this nightmare year(ish) I took a pic every day. I was often/usually late in posting them but I took them. Through all of the grief and pain and sadness and Covid and depression and all the rest, I took and posted a picture. I think I can safely assume none of them were my best and many were my worst.
I have often felt that taking and posting a picture every day tethers me to my life. I have always meant that in an easy, mindful kind of way, like it’s a way to pay attention to what’s around me, which you do when you take a picture. This past year I needed to have a tether of sturdier stuff and something that took me outside the house and outside my head could have only helped.
So for my 13th blip day I took my favorite pillow in my favorite chair and my favorite plastic doll hand that I’m giving to my friend K on Saturday ‘cause she loves that shit, and keys from my dad’s old typewriter that I kept when it was beyond repair and he was chucking it. (And, yeah, I knew I would need them for something when I took them in 2005) and brought them together for a fun shot. (Fun being relative, like everything else).
I’m hopeful that things will level out and I start to enjoy it all again - I miss seeing all my blip friends and the shots of their adventures and travel.
But seriously, if you’ve read this far you should really go take a picture to cheer us all up with.