Nana Reaches a Milestone: 100 posts

When I started to blog in January, 2010, I made a commitment to myself to blog for at least three months.  It is now 11 months later and today I celebrate reaching my 100th post.  So here are a few things I learned while getting to this milestone: 

• I like to write and even though I have periods with no original thoughts or absolutely nothing to say, I still like the process of writing.
• I like finding exactly the right words.
• I despair that just about every other blogger writes better than I do (especially Mr. London Street , Bruce and Legacy.)
• I wonder if I sometimes share too much.
• I wonder if sometimes I don't share enough.
• Does anyone really care about my silly little stories?
• I worry about maintaining a theme and then I say "f^&K it" and post whatever crosses my mind at the time.
• I anxiously scan my blogger reading list waiting to read the next posting of my blogger buddies.
• I throughly enjoy the cyber friends I have made through blogging.  I worry about Mrs. Midnite and her psycho neighbor's vendetta against her dogs, and  Kate and her marriage problems, and my heart aches for Sally as she grieves for her daughter, and I learn from the experiences of others how to adjust to retirement.  Linda, Rosaria, June, and DJan have all provided insight into the next step in my life.  I love the glimpses into the lives of others (Dan, Uncle Skip,  and the Brighton Pensioner ) even though I've never met them in person, I feel like I know them. 
• True confession...I am so darn envious of the bloggers with followers in the triple digits.  What am I doing wrong?
• I am grateful to the followers who faithfully read and comment on what I have to say.

I thought about sharing links to my favorite posts, but 100 posts were a lot to sift through!  It is interesting to me that the posts that are most meaningful to me are frequently the ones that get little response.  I think my most frequently read post is the one about getting a Bag of Crap from Woot.

So thank you to all of you who have read this blog and followed me on this journey.  I look forward to the next milestone, completing a year of blogging, in January.

Jann aka #1Nana

Nana Panders to Seniors

A week or so ago I wrote a post about adjusting to being a senior citizen.  I wrote the post using Windows Live Writer, a free program that I am just learning how to use.  I heard about it reading the blog of technogranny, one of the followers of this blog.   I thought that Live Writer might have enhanced capabilities and I'm sure I'll be dazzled as soon as I figure out all the features.  When I posted the piece to Blogspot the type was different from my usual postings and I couldn't seem to adjust the typeface.  I wound up just using the "Large" font size.  A reader commented that he enjoyed finding larger print on my blog. 

Light bulb moment....  

...if I'm writing a blog about adjusting to retirement and becoming a senior citizen, then maybe I should publish this little blog in a typeface that most of us of a certain age appreciate: LARGE PRINT!

And you younger readers, get used to it.  Trust me, there will come a time when you will really appreciate good lighting and large print.

Two Month Anniversary

On January 3, 2010 I made my first ever blog post. At the beginning of the year I made a commitment to myself to blog for at least two months. I started enthusiastically. There was a lot to learn. I was excited when I figured out how to put a counter on the site. I checked frequently to see if anyone visited. I was the most frequent visitor, but slowly others started to drop by. I spent a lot of time looking at other blogs and I left comments with my blog address. Then one day I got a comment on my blog and soon I had a couple of followers!!! My non-blogging friends didn’t understand what I was so excited about. What is a follower and why would anyone want one?


I had lots of ideas about what to write, at least for the first two weeks. I started another blog with a theme, as opposed to this one where I tend to jump from one idea to another. Midway through my two months I had a bout of writer’s block. I explored some of the sites that have suggested topics and I participated in a meme.

At one point I was ready to give up, but a commitment is a commitment. Now I find myself taking mental notes of every daily incident and thinking “Oh, I can blog about that.” I’m constantly writing in my head, although it’s still a challenge to actually get all those thoughts down on paper

So what have I learned from blogging? I have rediscovered my love of writing. Writing about some of the challenges of retiring has been therapeutic. I have revisited and analyzed experiences and, for the most part, put them behind me. Writing has allowed me to gain some perspective and let go of some haunting memories.   I've learn from my mistakes. Blogging has also allowed me to celebrate what's important to me.

I have so enjoyed the comments of those who have visited my blogs. I’m thrilled that others are reading my words, and some people are enjoying them! Thank you so much to those of you who have found my blog and are supporting me in this adventure. I think I’m going to continue. There’s still a lot to learn.

Blog Slogging

I did a lot of slogging through blogs this afternoon looking for something interesting to read. There’s a lot of pain, misery, suffering, infertility, cutesy crafts, and Jesus loving blogs out there. It’s a little intimidating…I don’t want to add to the crap pile. If I’m like the average reader, and God knows I’m average, I don’t read past the first post unless the writing intrigues me. I’m feeling the pressure to produce some quality writing….hummmm, I’m not doing too well so far.

I “next blogged” through a whole bunch of happy family blogs. It’s kind of creepy reading intimate details of stranger families. I read the pleas for prayers for “angel babies” and relatives suffering with cancer. There were pages of beautiful babies celebrating every milestone in their first years…I noticed that once they get to the toddler stage the postings aren’t quite as frequent. I feel like I’ve been peeking through the windows at strangers…and this is legal?

If I read about Jesus in the first 25 words I “next blogged” on to something new. It’s not Sunday and I wasn’t ready for a sermon.

I’m still learning the customs and mores of the blog world. I’ve posted a few comments on the blogs I visited. I know that I have enjoyed the few comments that I have received on my blog. I’m never sure if my comments are appropriate. I appreciated when a reader pointed out that I was using a cliché in one of my posts. (Note to self, try to limit the @#$%^ clichés) His comment will help improve my writing. I find myself wanting to point out to a blogger that he should be using “you’re” not “your” or varying his adjectives…but I wonder if these helpful suggestions (from my perspective) would be interpreted as mean criticism. I am a stranger in a foreign land…and darn that’s another cliché.

It’s surprising to me that this blog world has existed for some time and I was oblivious to it until just a few months ago. What else it out there? I think I must lead a sheltered life…and now I’ve opened the curtains and the blog world is peeking in my windows. Creepy, huh?

Learning Something New

Vacation is over. Students returned to school today, my husband went back to work, and my phone rang at 6:00 a.m. with a request that I substitute at the high school. Some days I tell them I’m not available, but I don’t tell them that my only plan for the day is to watch “The View” at 10:00 and Oprah at 4:00. I tell them “no” just because I can…one of the little pleasures of retirement. This morning I said “yes,” probably because I’m experiencing buyer’s remorse after too much holiday shopping.

I spent the day subbing in a special education classroom. There were no lesson plans and because it was the first day back to school, the kids didn’t have work to do from other classes.

Today my simple pleasure was learning something new. I’m enjoying the process of blogging because it forces me to learn new things. I added widgets to my layout. What a thrill that I now have a map and a scrolling message on my blog page. I found links to these gizmos on http://avarchivesp4.blogspot.com/

I’m thankful to all those people out in cyberspace who have created the helpful sites that are letting me learn new skills.

My technology skills are limited, so I really feel a sense of accomplishment when I can magically make my words appear in cyberspace. I added a counter and discovered, wonder of wonders, people other than me have visited my blog! Okay, not a hoard of people, but it’s a start.

So what have I learned about what I’m supposed to do in retirement? I need to keep learning new things and continue to consciously enjoy those ah ha moments. It’s like finding my way in a maze. I don’t know which way the path will take me, but each meaningful experience takes me further to the goal…and just like a maze, I can’t see where I’m going! Thank goodness I’m taking the time to enjoy the journey.