The sunday pile of blogbits

Will there ever be a Sunday that I feel compelled to blog AND have a cohesive theme to expound upon? All signs point to No. Instead, it’s a parade of leftovers and remnants from the week.

Independence! The little dude has taken sudden and surprising steps towards autonomy this weekend, and I am just not sure how to feel about this. He went for a playdate on Saturday, and it was notable as the first time we have sent him out the door in the care of another parent. He cheerily hugged the playdate mom and hopped into the car seat. I stood at the door waving goodbye as they drove off for mystery and adventure that didn’t involve me or the wife. Sniff. And as an encore to that display, today he was at his friend’s house with my wife, and once they were settled in he told her “okay mom you can go now”. She lit out of there like a bat out of hell and came home for an astounding 2-hour, uninterrupted nap.  We when came back, he was cheery and having a blast. He even liked the suggestion of a sleepover, but I am nowhere near ready for that. Of course, it is the beginning of the summer, which means I won’t get the school time break every Tuesday and Thursday, so I may quickly become amenable to shipping him off for the night.

Different topic: Sales! I’m sure you’re all wondering how my one-man commercial fiction empire is progressing. I haven’t made a million bucks, or broken even for that matter, but bit by bit, my friends and family are showing me how supportive they are, and it’s fantastic. I’m learning to accept this deluge of positivity and compassion without freaking out.  And, even people I have never met are buying copies from my champions out there in the field. So thank you, supporters and well-wishers!

A topic about topics: I fear sometimes that I might alienate some of you, my wonderful readers, if I delve too deeply into certain topics. There are some people who want to leave the room in a rush when the topic of politics comes up, and I really don’t want to chase anyone away from the blog with my ill-informed political opinions. On the other hand, my posts are better and more interesting when I’m passionate about my current topic, and trying to stay in the safe middle-ground does a disservice to any readers who like the challenge of complicated topics. And what about my occasional post about a topic I am woefully uneducated in (AKA the “I am not an expert” posts)? Do people like watching me wander blindly into the intellectual minefield in pursuit of my harebrained theories?

Parting unrelated thought: It’s all well and good to bite the bullet and make peace when someone upsets you, but think it through. You can’t verbally acquiesce but continue to feel slighted and hurt. After you call the truce, any leftover hurt and emotional baggage is your concern and no one elses. And yes, this sucks, but it’s what grownups have to do.