Why hello there. It’s been a while.
Hell, it’s about time. I started up this blog to have my own outpost on The Internet for words and photos; maybe not in that order, but certainly some place that is 100% mine. And it was going alright for a little while! That the writing process itself feels good is a curse I carry, one I initially aimed at journalism school for undergrad and our gaming blog afterwards, but remains to this day. The process of sitting down, banging out a blog post, and sharing photos fresh off the memory card provided that good dopamine from making something. Quietly, this was also about pushing back against empty-calorie social media engagement — better to share a link to my own site than provide content to the tech billionaires who, even circa 2019, gave off bad vibes.
But it’s always awkward to blow the dust off, and this is two-plus years’ worth. What happened?
Life — and particularly the new life welcomed into my world in the form of a child. I’ll spare the details but the amazing little kid running around looking like me has taken more time and effort than imaginable. This is where my fellow parents nod, grimly. But those time commitments have started to hit a nice plateau, providing manageable and definable space and time for hobbies.
The other part of it of course is related to the pandemic. It’s hard not to think of life before and after kids, but also pre- and post-pandemic. The adventures we used to have were unstructured, catering just to the wishes of me and my wife – go find dinner, go out for a whole day on the weekend, plan for an international trip. After a 2019 in which I almost circled the globe, it’s hard to imagine not leaving the country for almost six years, but that’s been my station. We’re starting the adventures up once again (and we’ve successfully flown!), but now the ones we go on the most are to show the toddler what life’s all about – and watch them engage with things and grow. Still have to think of nap time, though at least the stroller stays home now.
So this is a signal flare – a proof of life, a proof that we’re out here and still kicking. That this dad is still very tired, but more than happy to catch up. I think back to weekends growing up when the telephone would ring on a Sunday afternoon or evening, and it was relatives checking in – why can’t we do that, in the generational sense? Phone line or FaceTime, it’s about taking the time to maintain connections and take those steps to reconnect. Consider that, this, in blog form.
Doug Bonham Dot Blog 