The persistence of change

 

The old proverb has it that nothing is certain except death and taxes. Suggested within that is a third certainty; change. Tomorrow I am facing the first of some changes I’m anticipating over the next few months. Seems like a good time to catch up. 

I admit that I’m not good at handling the relics of the past that have come down to me. Between the sorrow of loss and the changes that keep zooming at me, I have set up files and sorted photos and old clippings and documents. Unfortunately I also misplace things. They get jumbled in moves and tucked away in limited space. Things get forgotten. Part of starting this blog has been to begin sorting through, but I still have limits and distractions. 

I recently came across some newspaper clippings that change a few things I wrote about my Grandma’s early life and her family's moves. I need to take some time to correlate a few things, but expect to be writing about that soon. 

I also plan on moving more into the stories from my own life. Often the older stories are tied up in how and when I heard them. Also, as I approach 70, many of the stories of my own life have begun to reach historically interesting status. I don’t want to neglect telling my versions while I can. 

I am facing a tough dental procedure tomorrow. I note this to let you know that there is a chance I may not be up to posting next week. Or I may post some story I already wrote in another context. Or maybe a poem. 

Which brings me to a question for you. This is National Poetry Month and I have recently claimed the identity of Poet. No, I have never been published or paid, but it is still true of who I have always been. I was going to write about that. The documentation I couldn’t locate today is a paper from Jr. High that started my mistrust of having my poetry judged. I’m in recovery, but I seek reassurance. Will it bother you if my stories sometimes include a poem? 

Here is a pledge to all of you, I will keep trying to bring order to the ephemera of the past that has drifted into my life. I will do my best to keep writing through my own changes and the chaos of the world. I hope this continues to be a viable platform for sharing. I don’t have a lot of faith in long term preservation of anything at the moment. 

I continue to be thankful for your interest in reading my stories. We need all the truth and hope that can be shared in the world right now. Let us encourage each other in these shifting times. Please let me know how you are doing. You matter. Your stories matter.