a hellomelissa record!

i need to take a post to say thank you to the readers of this blog... the faithful checkers, the regular commenters, and even the lurkers. according to my stat counter, october was the most "successful" month my blog has had thus far (if you count success by pageloads, that is). every day i am grateful and humbled by the people i have "met" here and who have become my friends.

the only reason this blog was even a twinkle in my eye is because of lotus, my very first internet friend. yes, i am a geek. we met on bookcrossing.com while swapping stories-- literally-- and just found that we had too much in common. although we've never met face to face, i count her among my close friends. (shout out to you, lotus!)

a ways back-- maybe about 2 years?-- lotus told me that she was starting a literary blog and to check it out. maybe i would evenwant to start my own? i really had no idea what this thing called "blog" was, but i checked hers and promptly signed up for one of my own. and promptly left it to sit empty for several months. hers blossomed beautifully into a very cohesive, respected blog of book reviews. i simmered on what MY topic would be. i sat, i thought, i pored, i pondered, and i let that naggy little critic in my brain carry me off into no-creativity land. finally one day i decided that "hello, melissa!" didn't have to be about anything. i shoved my little critic (he kinda looks like napoleon) as deep into my subconscious as he could possibly go, and wrote whatever came to mind.

which wasn't much.

but it was good for me to grasp the english language yet again after toddler-speaking for several years. writing each day may not have made me a better WRITER per se, but that was not the goal. the goal was simply to write for me. gradually, due to lotus, j, susan and other friends (you KNOW who you are!) i suppose i've developed a small circle of readers. wow! i would have never guessed that anyone other than my mom would care to hear the incohesive rambings of me. and mom, i love you for it. but the rest of you? you have NO obligation to love and support me, and yet you do... day after day, week after week. thank you!

the rewards i have gotten from this community are uncountable. i have learned new cultures and cultural attitudes. i have tried new recipes, done a few memes (which really are introspective), and thought about the things that are really important to me to write about. i've read a zillion books that i may otherwise have never even known about, and watched more than one movie that i would never have chosen on my own. more than anything i have LAUGHED every day, and have become so much more aware and empathetic to those around me. reading your stories, trials, and triumphs has been incredibly rewarding. thank you!

so here i am, grovelling, in gratitude for giving me a reason to keep writing my silly stories of suburban momhood. it's been fun, and as i look back, i am SO GLAD that i stuck with it. my kids now have a legacy of our lives to read in the future. well, i'm assuming that they'll read it! maybe not, but that's ok. i'll know that our history has been kept in a haphazard, sloppy way, and i'll be happy.