Welcome to the Misadventures of Widowhood blog!

Welcome to my World---Woman, widow, senior citizen seeking to live out my days with a sense of whimsy as I search for inner peace and friendships. Jeez, that sounds like a profile on a dating app and I have zero interest in them, having lost my soul mate of 42 years. Life was good until it wasn't when my husband had a massive stroke and I spent the next 12 1/2 years as his caregiver. This blog has documented the pain and heartache of loss, my dark humor, my sweetest memories and, yes, even my pity parties and finally, moving past it all. And now I’m ready for a new start, in a new location---a continuum care campus in West Michigan, U.S.A. Some people say I have a quirky sense of humor that shows up from time to time in this blog. Others say I make some keen observations about life and growing older. Stick around, read a while. I'm sure we'll have things in common. Your comments are welcome and encouraged. Jean

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Will This Blog Survive the Move?

Back when I first started blogging I was a mentor and chat host at a large stroke support website---and I was good at it, worked my way up to being an administrator on the site and was on their board of directors. Then I ran into a woman who proved that I was not good at in-person mentoring. It was a chance encounter and one I brooded about for days. She had challenged my long held belief that I was a fair-minded person. A person who could listen to caregivers or survivors vent or rant or cry or share their joy (or distress) over minuscule improvements and do my best to give them sound and compassionate feedback. But this woman drew me into a pissing contest of sorts by starting our conversation out by telling me I had it easy as a caregiver because I could see what was wrong with my husband. 


Her husband’s stroke happened two months before our conversation and he was left with some “personalities issues that kept him from going back to work.” Don’s stroke had been in the rear-view window for three years and it left him right side paralyzed and without verbal or written communications skills. At first I was in mentoring mode by telling her that her husband’s stroke was very recent and things could change a lot in the coming months. “Not likely!” she replied. “He doesn’t try at all.” Again, she told me I had it easy and that second barb torched me off. Ever so sweetly replied, “Just because Don has physical disabilities that can be cataloged with your eyes and ears that doesn’t mean he didn’t also have to go through a grieving process over losing the life style he’d had before. It doesn’t mean he didn’t have to overcome some major impulse control, anger and cognitive issues.”


I’ll cut to the chase here and say it finally came out that she was divorcing her husband because of the stroke and right to the end of our brief but volatile conversation she kept insisting I had it easy compared to her. “My husband can’t work!” she said at one point and I wanted to shout, “Does it look like mine is bringing home a paycheck?” but I bit it back. I don’t do drama in public and she was stuck in self pity mode. Even if I had been wearing my mentoring hat instead of taking her words personally, nothing I said would have registered.

 

As a mentor I should have remembered that not all marriages are equal and that a crisis in a bad marriage can be the catalyst for a divorce that probably should have happened a long time ago. But instead I turned her rant into a weapon that made me doubt my ability to be my dad’s daughter. He was the fairest-minded person I’ve ever known and I wanted to be just like him when I grow up…if that ever happens, the growing up part. I’m not there yet and I’ve come to accept that I’ll never be as good of a person as my dad was because I’ve elevated him to sainthood. Not that he doesn’t deserve it. 

 

Why am I dredging up the past? I was thinking about the various blogs I’ve had since I started---five in all--- and I'm wondering if this one will survive the move to my next chapter in life. Digging around in my archives I found the post I had written about this woman and thought it's a good example of what my life was like back when I started my first blog. Writing/blogging was my lifeline back in those days. I’d found my tribe. Once I became a widow and I had to make a shift from the stroke support community to another blogging platform, I found another tribe to join. 

 

I don't know what will happen after this next major transition in my life with the move to the continuum care campus. How will I keep blogging without a major, underlying theme going on? With no caregiver or widow's issues to filter my writer's voice through will I gravitate toward writing about aging? Gag me with a spoon. Will my blog just become a depository for my memories? In today's world of search engines and "keywords" can a blog even survive without a theme, a focus that draws people to your pages? Right now, a search engine bringing people to my blog must make them feel like they've been baited and switched because posts with a 'widowed theme' are getting as rare as fur on a frog's toes. (Side note here: I just googled 'frogs with fur' and there is a species in central Africa that has hair! Have I told you lately how much I love Google?)

 

If you google the phrases "old women who write" and "blogs for older women" you'll get hits so I checked some of them out, thinking I could find my new tribe, a new bloggers platform but they all seem to be blog communicates filled polished articles by and about accomplished older women all doing marvelous, do-good or creative things. Or they are all wanna-be influencers in fashion, beauty, living large or healthier and travel. Me, with my aspirations of being an Erma Bombeck style observer of life and my 'Dear Diary' style of writing just wouldn't fit in. I'm still searching for a place where I might.

 

Another option would be to give this blog a physical makeover (which scares the crap out of me for fear I'd accidentally delete it all from the face of the earth). Next I could change the mission statement at the top to trick search engines into finding me with my new writing theme---what ever that turns out to be---and I'd have to put some work into networking some more subscribers. Last but not least, maybe I could tweak the blog name to The Misadventures of Widowhood and Moving on. I've got nothing catchier on tap for a title except The [filling-in-the-blank] Senior on the First Floor has been looping around in my head all day and I can't find a good adjective to fill in the blank. Help, it's driving me crazy! ©


 There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt. ~ Erma Bombeck

 “Laughter rises out of tragedy when you need it the most, and rewards you for your courage.” ~ Erma Bombeck

76 comments:

  1. I don't think you need to change a thing, Jean. You are still continuing on as a widow - now moving to a whole new type of living situation. I for one am looking forward to reading your thoughts about your new living arrangement. I see lots of blog fodder in your future! You'll probably have to come up with some pseudonyms though, to protect the guilty...You might even want one for yourself....oh dear, maybe you should start a new blog...MISADVENTURES IN THE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY, BY ANONYMOUS...HAH!

    De

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    1. It's going to be touchy writing about people who could live in such close contact. With only a few exceptions I don't use real names now when I blog so I'd do pseudonyms or give everyone a nickname for sure after I move. On the other hand, lots of people in my offline life know I write because I've shared a post on rare occasion on Facebook and years ago I even shared the blog address in a couple of Christmas letters but I can count on one hand then number of offline friends and family who've ever read here. Having the potential that someone I write about could find what I wrote, though, does serve the purpose of keeping me as honest in my observations as one can be. Still, everyone sees things from a different angle and what I might see as funny someone else might think is mean to point out.

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  2. Did you ever watch the British sitcom "Waiting for God"? It was about "two spirited residents of a retirement home". It was very funny - ran for five seasons. I think your observations of life, sense of humor and writing skills can turn the next stage of your life into a very entertaining blog. I would enjoy that immensely.

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    1. Thank you! I haven't seen that sitcom but it's going on my list of things to stream once I'm able to do that. Sounds like a good research project for what I'd like to do.

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  3. I would caution you to "stop" and say - you will have plenty of fodder at the new home - a community of characters that you might only see once a week, through to daily - what kind of people have you interacted with - what changes occur as they unfold - and just things that tickle your fancy to write about. Maybe you could consider making a new blog template that doesn't forget your past but shows the future

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    1. I would love a new template like that but like I said I'm scared of making changes in the one I'm using. The sunset was symbolic of a part of my life ending when I became a widow. Maybe I could just rebrand it as a sunrise on my new chapter. LOL I've got lots of ideas but nothing is gelled yet. I'd like to start using more photographs, too.

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  4. I hope that you will continue to blog in whatever form. I look forward to hearing about your transition into a community of seniors; I am doing the same myself.

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    1. Did you find it as hard as I did to find the right community of seniors as I did? I visited 5-6 and they all had different vides.

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    2. No, I focused on a place in Minnesota (where I am from) and the services and amenities. I also bought into a senior coop since I wanted to own a place and have a say in how it was managed.

      I think we both made the right choice for ourselves.

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  5. Oh, I hope you keep blogging. I really enjoy yours posts, and I bet you'll have a lot of fodder once you move. As for the theme changing, I don't have any experience with new templates, etc., but I trust you will figure it out. You're a smart cookie.

    Truer words were never spoken: "Not all marriages are equal and that a crisis in a bad marriage can be the catalyst for a divorce that probably should have happened a long time ago." Watching the possibility of that going on with someone dear to me. Sad.

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    1. Thanks for the vote of confidence. Playing with templates if fun when you don't have any data to lose if you screw up. We will have an IT guy on campus to help us with anything TV, phone and computer related but he's going to be super busy that first month of move ins. So I might not try a template change until closer to Christmas (November is Cataract month for me.)

      Unfortunately I've seen a lot of marriages fall apart in the stroke community. The reverse occasionally happens, too, where someone had been taking their spouse for granted before a life crisis but when that spouse steps up to the plate to be super supportive, it can grow their love and respect for one another. No cookie cutter rules apply to the human heart, do they.

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  6. I'd keep your blog title, create a fresh template, and then keep writing about whatever you want to. As for a blog theme, how about This Is Me. I'd avoid the trap of being in a niche like the ones you mention in your post. "Blogs for older women"? Piffle I say to that.

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    1. Given your success with blogging---I really admire you for yours---I will be weighing your advice heavily.

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  7. Please continue your blog. You are such a skilled writer . I'm looking forward to reading about your new life.

    Thank you for writing your blog.

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    1. Oh, wow! Thank you and I plan tp keep writing after the move. I'm just not sure if it will be in this blog revamped or a brand new one.

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  8. My goodness. I love your blog and have turned a few other ladies onto it, as well.
    I’ve been following you for some time now. I related when you wrote more about being a widow, as I had been one as well..8+ years now. Then I related to the difficulties of being alone when things break and more recently the consideration of moving to a CCRC, which I think of often.
    So I feel like I’m moving and changing scenarios right along with you and your other followers.

    I know we both followed Ronni Bennett’s blog and it was one of the best ever. She covered many subjects and they were all pertinent most of the time for most of the people…just like you.

    Don’t change much of anything. You write well and have a good sense of humor. I’m so looking forward to just how it will be for you living in a CCRC and a whole new and different life. It will be a view to many of our possible futures.

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    1. Thanks for your vote of confidence. Being an 8+ years widow is a strange place to be in, at least it is for me. It's nice to know that others are rolling along the same path I'm taking.

      Ronni tackled a lot of tough topics and did is so well. Her advocacy for our aging population made a difference.

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  9. I too hope you continue to blog. Observations on adjusting to a big change in lifestyle are always helpful and if we are lucky we all will be following in your footsteps. I also just really a joy your humor, stories and writing!

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    1. I will continue blogging but I'm worried that attrition will kill it off if what I write about doesn't match what people are looking for when the search engines bring them here. It wouldn't fun for me if only five people were following me. LOL

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  10. I'm in the keep going camp. I anticipate the chronicles of your move in the style that is uniquely you. And that's exactly what you've done, Jean - you've just kept keeping on. Good on you.

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    1. It's encouraging that everyone so far doesn't see a reason for me to start a new blog for me to rebrand myself, so to speak.

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  11. Unless you're really concerned about getting new readers/commenters, I wouldn't be too terribly concerned. Do you get revenue from ads here at your blog? Is it a source of income? If not, then so what?

    Even your blog's images aren't all that specific to need a revamping unless you feel the need to freshen things up. Your content is still about your life after Don, decisions you've made, learning things along the way, and now, the biggest decision of all--moving out of the home you shared and into a new home of your own.

    I've never had a niche blog, and I've been writing at my spot for 16 years now. If the writing is engaging, people find you; if you leave engaging and good comments at other blogs, people find you. I found you, and I'm still here!

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    1. No I haven't and never will monetize my blog. I hate the cluttered look of advertisements on the blogs who do make money off from clicks. Years ago I did submit caregiver essays to a website where we got paid for clicks and i did okay not but not as well as the people who just regurgitated stuff found elsewhere about movie stars etc. I learned a lot about writing to the search engines from hanging around the backside of the website where we writers had a message board. I am a bit obsessed with my stats. I celebrate every times I pick up a new subscribers. LOL

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  12. Just let me know where you end up. I’ll follow you anywhere! This blog or a new one…❤️

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    1. Me, too! I don't often comment, because I'm not usually current, but I've been reading here for several years, and if it's been a while since I've read your blog, I'll find myself thinking, "I haven't read anything from Jean lately, I wonder how things are going for her" and I'll visit and read several just to get caught up. And please accept my condolences on the loss of your dear Levi.

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    2. Thank you, I still miss him a lot. He was to have a big part in helping me make friends after I move, because everyone who met thought he was such a sweet, well mannered dog. He would have forced me to get out in the community several times a day.

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  13. Hey, you can't quit now! We've all followed you through your down-sizing and home sale. We have to see what's in store for you next in your new digs!

    I've had my blog for over 12 years (I had to go my first post to find that) and it started out as a place to post pics of my artist trading cards I created and silhouettes that I cut. Basically, an art blog. Then I started writing about my mother and the theme bounced to "Notes from the Eldercare Underground" but the blog name stayed the same. Now it's veered off into the land of politics and Trump. I have some dedicated followers but even if I didn't it wouldn't change my approach. I agree with Ally Bean above. Write for yourself. If you write it, they will come.

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    1. Wow, what an interesting progression for a blog to take! I'm also going to have to dig back into your archives to find some of those silhouettes. I have a wall of 12 I haven't downsized yet. Too many holes in the wall to take them down before the showings. I still love them but I'm giving up six.

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    2. Did you cut the silhouettes yourself or did you acquire them? I have a wall of 13 (I win! lol) in my bedroom. I cut all but two of them. One was done of me when I was about 5 and the other was done of me at Disneyland when I was in the 8th grade. Just put "silhouettes" in my search box and you should probably be able to find them.

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    3. I cut just one when I was I was ten. (I had to turn it over to find the date.) I also have two that were cut of me when I was 5-6 years old and another set that were done of my husband's parents plus one of my mother. They still fascinate me and I wouldn't mind trying to cut one although I wouldn't a a clue where to start.

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    4. Just checked out your silhouette. I never would have guessed the process of starting on the back side. Very cool blog post! How about doing a person's profile. For some reason I thought there was a projector involved and the artist cut freehand.

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    5. I have done a few small profiles. You basically just have to wing it by looking at the person as you cut. Silhouette paper has a soft black on one side and white on the other. You would go blind if you tried to cut from the black side. You can also click on "Scherenschnitte" in my tags. There might be more that didn't show up under "Silhouettes."

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    6. I'll be stalking your blog archives for sure.

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  14. Of course it will survive! When I recommend your blog to friends, I describe it as reading like' letters from a friend about daily life and observations'. I too see much great fodder for your blog after the move. I see no need to change the name....you're a 'brand' now for all your followers.

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    1. Like I told Juhli up above, I'm worried that attrition will kill off my blog if what I write about doesn't match what people are looking for when the search engines bring them here. Got to keep picking up a few newbie followers from time to time to make it viable. I'm glad so far everyone doesn't see a need to change the title.

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  15. Can see no reason to change. I am not a widow but enjoy your posts very much. You are still a widow and misadventures are common to everyone so the title is fine. I think your new arrangement will really give you blog fodder but I really wouldn't tell anyone there that you blog:))

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    1. I can see why telling people about a blog in a community like that could get me in trouble. They do have a newsletter that invites submissions so I'll check that possibility for anything I might write that isn't poking fun at any individual. At the senior hall only one person knew/knows but I trusted her to be like minded in a lot of my views.

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  16. Why would you need to reinvent? I think I lost that logic somewhere if you mentioned it. You are you and you will always be a journey so write your journey. We are all invested in your new chapter - you grab can't us all - you can't stop now! 😁

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    1. Not so much reinvent but to make the search engines find me better and match up better with what I write about now that I'm not a recent widow anymore. I truly believe the reason so many people give up blogging is because attrition takes away their initial following and they don't try to replace them as their life changes.

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    2. you could do an ad words campaign to drive them to you with your key words as we did in business. Just a thought

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    3. It's a good thought and an idea I will use once I get settled what I'm going to rebrand my blog to.

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  17. Jean, there's a photo of my wall in the post "More Pfun with Smartphones."

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    1. You are have an artist's eye! I need to get one of those apps too. love what you did with it.

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  18. I never thought of you as a niche blogger. I just enjoy your stories and humor and your point of view. I am not a widow but I am still here each time you post. So keep blogging, pretty please??

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    1. Seriously? I've never thought of myself as anything but a niche blogger. I won't stop blogging but if I move to a new platform I'll leave plenty of bread crumbs behind.

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  19. You have loads of options. Quitting, I hope, isn't seriously being considered as one of them! And you don't need a new blog to do it. Maybe a new design that reflects where you are or a revamped title -- but that doesn't mean a new blog. You just change the title. The url would be the same. (That way you won't lose people). You don't have to have a theme. You can. I visit art blogs. Travel blogs. Blogs that are all over the map. I love them all. Until you decide (if ever) to remarry, you are a widow and heaven's knows you have misadventures! I say stick with it, redesign if you want a change (don't hesitate to hire Linda -- she's not that expensive and she works well with you.) Look at the blogs you like the look of -- how much clutter do they have on their side bar or template and how is it arranged? What draws you in? How do YOU want to be reflected in a design? By interest? By place? There are a lot of options where you can keep this blog and just update it without having to start another all over. (And in the endgame, it will be easier to keep track of with one instead of past versions.) Just don't stop.

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    1. I'd have to hire Linda to at least get rid of the photo in my subscribe by email box. I didn't really want it there in the first place but I can't change the template and let it stay. I know how to do everything else or at least I can reteach myself since I've designed my other blogs. Linda is easy to work with but her tastes and mine are very different and I love to play with fonts etc...but who knows maybe when I get rid of my cataracts I may change what I like and her 'daintier touch' will be more to my liking. God, it just hit me that I shouldn't make any visual changes until after the surgeries!

      Got more to say but I have an eye doctor appointment to get ready for.

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  20. I hope you'll keep blogging and I wouldn't worry about search engines. I've only been reading your blog for about two years. I linked over from your comments on other blogs and found your blog very readable and interesting. I think you have a great voice and will continue to write what you see, feel and experience. The title of your blog would not have drawn me in from a search engine, so again, I'd say just be yourself and continue on. It appears me you definitely have an appreciative audience. Also, I'm hoping to hear lots about your ccc experience because that's in our future too.

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    1. Not worry about search engines? Didn't you know I'm addicted to my stats. LOL Laughing but it's true. I have found most of my favorite blogs through comments too, but I'm finding fewer and fewer. Not sure it that's a reflection on me or other bloggers. Anyway, thank you for the kind words.

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  21. You blog is interesting every single post! If you want to update the look and the search engine, do it. I happen to love your Erma Bombeck take on life. I did update my Awkward Widow on my own, but used some help setting up the now extinct multigenerational one. Linda Primmer tesonline@gmail.com.

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    1. Ya, I've been meaning to ask you why you folded that bog in less than a month, if memory serves me right. I was guessing maybe your family didn't want to have their privacy so up front and center. It looked so promising and in tune with the life you're living now. Thanks for Linda's email address I didn't keep it after she set up the Chimpmail subscriber app.

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    2. It was just too much to write two posts for two blogs each week! I had to log out of one gmail account and into another to get to the blog I needed. Two confusing for an elderly blond lady!!! Linda's pricing is at https://www.myfairyblogmother.com/p/blog-designs.html

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    3. my blogs are all on the same dashboard, under the same account. I can see why it would be a pain to not have them set up that way. Linda has an interesting business. I wish I had her computer skills.

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  22. I started blogging 16 years ago and have changed what I blog about several times. I didn't change the name of my blog or anything else about it though, I just changed what I wrote about as things changed in my life. I don't really care about search engines being able to find me because I find most blogs by reading comments on the blogs I already follow. That's how I found you.

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    1. We started around the same time only I did created new blogs when my life and the things I blogged about changed. I actually found you the same way your found me only I didn't start reading you consistently for while because my eyes and your small font size are not a match made in heaven. But the more you popped up in Dawn's comments, the more curious I got. Now I really love your crazy---said with much affection---book reviews.

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  23. Jean, your blog appeals to me because of your honesty, sense of humor, and your willingness to share your life. Oh, I need to add your feistiness (I don't know how to spell it). Although I am not a widow, I find it very interesting and educational to hear from those who have experienced the loss of a spouse. There is so much that we have in common, regardless of our age, address, and social standing. I know nothing about writing a blog, but I sure love reading my favorites. Jean, you have much to give your readers and as I read in a comment above, your blogs are like receiving a letter from a dear friend. I think things will sort themselves out for you. Thank you for every single post!!

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  24. My blog has had a couple of names and what I post has changed a bit, for me that's natural as we grow and change as we age. So if needed change the name and keep on, keeping on..............

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    1. You been on Bloggers almost as long as I have. We should throw a party for all of us who'd been blogging 15 years or more.

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  25. I would hate for you to stop. I'm on an adventure with all you've been through. Your new world will be interesting to hear about.

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    1. I have to reread what I wrote because I didn't mean to suggest I'd quit blogging altogether but rather to quit writing in this blog and start a brand new one. But after all the comments, I've decided I could just stay here and revamp and rebrand what I've got here.

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  26. Jean :

    I have been following you around since you were mentor at that big strokenet support group. your wise words saved me from jumping off the cliff I was ready to jump off. reading your blogs, Don's & your fighting spirit gave me strength to fight on, & you encouraged me t start blogging & I found it most therapeutic for my soul. my blogs became my spiritual & talking outlet when I had no one to talk to when kido & hubby were not home, I have become blog junkie & loves reading blogs & writing my own both gives me strength & ability to look at ordinary things with appreciation. I hope you keep on blogging you are amazing writer & your views on life are spot on, and if you say your dad was better than you, then I feel bad not meeting him, but for me you are better than any one I know.

    Asha

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    1. You give me too much credit Asha, back in those days when we first met online I may have given you encouraging and/or wise words BUT YOU are the one who did all the hard emotional work to turn your life around. And I know that wasn't easy. Not only that, you and a others I mentored---often in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep--gave me a sense of purpose. I'm proud of my years spent there, but I'm also very proud of you.

      I feel badly that I don't follow your blog since I left the website but it was too hard for me to hang around after I resigned. I only go there once or twice a year how and it makes me sad. Thank you for being my longest blog reader!

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    1. I will. It's a question---or was a question---of whether or not I started a new blog on a different platform. Reading the comments has made me decide to stay here and rebrand this blog, tweak the look (when I'm feeling brave) and tweak the header to reflect what I'll be writing about in the future. I probably won't do anything until I get past my upcoming cataract surgery the week after my move. I'm being me, long-ranging planning my future.

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  28. WHAT... we're supposed to have a Theme?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?! *Winks* Please just keep Blogging and refresh your Blog Name if you feel it's Helpful, the Moving On part added to your Misadventures of Widowhood would be just Fine since you ARE still a Widow my Friend and you're still having Misadventures, so you're not baiting and switching anyone. Since I've never had a Theme and am very Random, nobody has expectations I guess of what the Hell I'm Writing about, and the Story never matches the Images, so it's always been a Free Fall down my Rabbit Hole and I'm Okay with that. Your Blog is Perfect as it is, don't fret about it... besides, most of us would be hard pressed to find you if you set up somewhere else, I can barely find the Truck anymore unless I Park it in the exact same area when I'm shopping!

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    1. You're not fooling me, Dawn. You are a master at creating blog post titles that draw in the search engines. I used to try harder to do that and will again, I'm hoping, after I get settled. But you have a gift. Your theme is all about Random thoughts and random images.

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    2. Ah, so I DO have a Theme... Random! I feel better now. *Ha ha ha*

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  29. Well, The Task at Hand never has had a 'theme,' and Lagniappe, although it's a photo blog, roams pretty freely (think "Willy Nelson's birthday thistle"). I've never concerned myself with SEO or search engines or any of that business, either. I just wrote or posted photos, and whoever shows up is fine with me.

    I will say that changing your template probably is easier than you think. On WordPress, it certainly is. When I decided that I wanted both of my blogs to have the same look, and cross-link to one another, I did it all myself without any problem. For one thing, WordPress allows you to design your new look and only have it go live when you're satisfied -- you can mess around as long as you like without having any of the 'backend' stuff visible to your readers.

    As for titles, the first thing that came to mind was "Oddments." That's the word that Peg Bracken coined to describe a certain kind of easy dessert in her I Hate to Cook Book. It refers to a collection of fruits, cheeses, petits fours, and so on -- any little "somethings" that are easy and tempting. I once titled a post "Oddments" just because I had several different things to catch people up on.

    A title like that would move you beyond a widowhood theme, but still allow you to write about such things -- as well as your move, etc. etc. Anyway: whatever you decide, just let us know about it and we'll be here!

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    1. Changing the template/skin I could easily figure out but it's the addition of the recent 'follow my e-mail' thing that has me stumped. I see no other way around it than to pay Linda another $50 to get rid of the sunset picture in the box. I've looked at the coding and can't find anything for the image to delete. Maybe when I have more time I can figure it out, but I think it's beyond my tech capabilities.

      "Oddments is a strange word. My Saturday post should have been titled like that. I'm terrible at post titles.

      I disagree that your blogs don't have themes. One being great photography and the other being great stories with a historical and memoir twist.

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    2. That's interesting. I guess I think of "themed" blogs as those that focus on one subject matter -- like cooking, or such. Of course, no matter how we describe our blogs, it's the content and writing that matter. The very fact that I've become a faithful reader of yours despite not being married or widowed is a testament to your abilities.

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    3. Right back at you on the being a faithful reader of your blogs.

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  30. You are definitely an Erma Bombeck-style observer of life! I think there will be a lot to observe at your new digs. Decades ago, a sociologist named Herbert Gans moved into a brand new suburban community and wrote a book (The Levitowners) about his observations of a new community forming. (He didn't have your wicked sense of humor, though.)

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    1. oh. I'll have to see if I can track down his book. Ive been to enough future owners meetings that I'm starting to get a sense for the kinds of personalities I'm finding. With on 52 of us and lots of social interactions planned it won't take long to get to know the wall flowers from the table dancers.

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    2. P.S. Found the book on Amazon and even used it's way out of my budget.

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