Moving on. But not before seriously looking back.

I've been in a bit of a culture vacuum over the past week.  Or maybe lazily pushing one around.  I won't say that what I've been reading and listening to sucks.  But another stretched vacuum analogy might apply (not much worth picking up has appeared before me).  So instead of reaching too far, I'd like to digress and give an update on other things.  Especially since this will be one of my last posts here.  For real and forever.

If you've paid attention to what I've written here over the years (dating back to the beginning of 2005), you know a few themes dominate.  The personal side has always featured Maya, from before birth to the now fully dynamic life of a proud kindergartener.  The opinionated address of all things political has always been fair game.  And cultural notes of particular interest to me get reviewed.  Like countless blogs, I don't get paid except for a pittance of advertising.  Some very limited (but appreciated) notice has come my way.  But blogging is a largely one-handed juggling act.  After a while, you sort of run out of tricks and have trouble keeping it fresh for those kind enough to stop by and watch.

I've had other concurrent blogging projects - most recently my running blog that has tracked my day-by-day kvetching about training for the Twin Cities Marathon.  The energy that goes into each and every of these outlets doesn't spring eternal.  So the waxing and waning is probably what has driven my traffic up and down over the years.  With that as an awkward pivot, I've decided to shut it all down.  Leave the archives up for posterity.  And move on to the projects that really deserve my attention.  I've got two novels to edit and sell.  Ideas for two more, plus a grand non-fiction history that I've been researching for most of my life.  Plans, I tell you.  Glorious plans.

Before then, I have a slew of things to see and write about here.  Tomorrow morning, I leave for a solo week-plus trip through Wisconsin and the Twin Cities.  A trip down memory lane, plus a wide range of new trips along that path.  I plan to take lots of pictures, ask lots of questions (or others and myself), and soak up as much of the autumn landscape as possible.  I've always adored the fall in Wisconsin.  So please check back for some fresh stuff.  I think it will be worth your time.  And thanks for doing so.  Rock on.

For now, let's just call it a break...

For those that have wondered, I have been slack for the last handful of months when it comes to blogging. If you visit regularly, thank you. Seriously. Thank you. I hope you will someday buy a book or two and let me buy you a drink as one of the few that paid attention way back when. But I don't think I'll be doing this much longer. Life's about transitions, and I've spent more than 4 years wearing out my welcome on a free template with not much to show for it. Other things are happening in my creative considerations and I don't know how often I'll be back here. Pictures of Maya and the whole famn damily in addition to occasional cultural reviews are surely going to be offered up. Maybe with more of an emphasis on RSS feeds, Tweets, and all manner of convenience so you can be better told when to check back. But I seriously mean this...thank you for checking in. I've always tried to walk something of a complex line between promoting how utterly proud I am of my family and how I want my family to be somewhat hidden from overt view. Maybe that's why I've never become one of those over-exposed ironies that then hides in the backyard clubhouse. This has been fun. It ain't over. Well, it sort of is over. Funny how that happens, doncha know.

Hope your own half-step away only gives you a better view of the whole picture today. Rock on.