702nd Friday Blog Roundup
I’m definitely not jet lagged because I’m not waking up in the middle of the night anymore, but my brain feels like it’s moving slowly. Like there’s a film covering it, and I have to think really hard to connect to thoughts. This is the one drawback to travel. (Well, this and flying. Flying is something I endure, I don’t enjoy.) That hard landing where you’re trying to re-acclimate to a life that you lived so easily before you left.
I have a friend who is currently traveling the world for the year. Part of me wants to do that so badly, and part of me wonders how I’d ever fit back into my life here after doing that. If a couple of weeks in Scotland has made my brain cloudy, what would 52 weeks overseas do to accessing normal life?
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Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.
Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.
As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments in order to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.
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And now the blogs…
But first, second helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:
- None… sniff.
Okay, now my choices this week.
The Road Less Travelled marked the 40th anniversary of IVF (or Louise Joy Brown’s 40th birthday) with a post about the other side of IVF; the one not discussed in all the articles this week. When it works, it’s fantastic. But like so many things, it doesn’t always work despite it being presented as a done deal. She writes, “I am happy that something like 8 million more IVF babies have been born in the years since then, fulfilling so many more couples’ dreams of having a family. I’m happy that it’s worked for some of you who are reading this. But I am sad that many, many more millions of couples have walked away from IVF & ARTs without the baby they’d dreamed of.” Go over and read the whole post (and video).
It’s common for parents to write blog posts to their children on their birthday, but I really loved A+ Effort’s post to Miss E. Maybe because I’ve gotten to see her grow up on the blog (she’s seven!). That’s the best part about this community and, in general, when people keep blogging; you get to see people grow up and change and do amazing things. Happy birthday, Miss E. And congratulations on being Queen of the Garden.
Lastly, and I saved this one for last because there are spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale, but like My Path to Mommyhood, I also identify with Serena Joy. And it made me vaguely uncomfortable during the first season; like it revealed an ugly truth when I understood her sometimes more than other characters. In fact, I haven’t watched season two yet because of that, though I was actually happy for the spoilers because it’s the sort of show that I’d rather watch with a heads up. I may let this one go for a little while until the time feels right because it sounds like there will be tears.
The roundup to the Roundup: Travel muddles (as well as grows?) the brain. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between July 13th and 20th) and not the blog’s main url. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week? Read the original open thread post here.
7 comments
Interesting point about Serena Joy in The Handmaid’s Tale. I read the book before my own infertility was discovered and have not watched the show. Maybe I should?
I read the post by A+ Effort this week, too, and loved it. Made me wish my sons and I knew Miss E in real life!
I am one of the luckies who gets to know A+ Effort and Miss E in real life, and they are just as awesome as you’d expect. I loved that post, too.
And I felt the same as Jess when I read Handmaid’s Tale years ago (remember when the ALI community discussed it?) . I didn’t read her whole post for spoilers.
And, of course, LoriBeth is always thoughtful and kind in her posts, especially this one.
I know what you mean about easing back into Life after traveling, especially when time zones are involved.
I loooooooved this blog by Regie Hamm.
https://regiehammblog.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/the-hedges-and-the-midwife/
Coming back after even a short vacation, for me, is such a big adjustment. It’s so weird that a few days can seem like another world away. I honestly don’t even know how one would come back after traveling for a year and go right back to the life you once had…I mean, maybe in my late teens/early 20’s before I had an established life, but now???
It is very interesting to me because I know of a family of 8 who spent 5 years in an RV traveling the states…I have NO idea how one sustains a family that way…small spaces for an extended period of time, and also the financial piece…anyway they have now settled down in a home for the last year, and recently traveled a few hours away and had THE hardest time with the road trip. They used to spend the better part of a day driving, but after a year of not doing it, a couple hours felt like a lifetime.
I often say that you need a holiday to recover from the holiday. (Yes, North Americans, you can substitute “vacation” for “holiday.”) I’m not sure how long you were away, but if you’re only away a short time, you’re in a bit of a whirlwind, and by the time you’ve adjusted to being away and doing different things, you’re home again. And the re-entry can be rough. Good luck.
Good choices on the blogs. I really liked Infertile Phoenix’s Insensitive Sister post, because it shows her growth and compassion (if not that of her sister). https://infertilephoenix.blogspot.com/2018/07/insensitive-sister.html
Traveling is awesome, but that adjustment period when you get back is rough. Add the jet lag in and ugh. But, I wonder if a year abroad would be so much travel and so many time zones over so long a time wouldn’t be in some way easier to reacclimate? I don’t think I could ever be away from home that long.
Thanks for including that post! I appreciated spoilers for Season Two also, helped steel my mettle and not get caught off guard. Brutal, and trigger-y, but excellent.
I loved the idea of JOMO that Loribeth wrote about… Reminds me of the silver linings list that helps me not feel so sorry for myself:
http://theroadlesstravelledlb.blogspot.com/2018/07/jomo-joy-of-missing-out-and-case-in.html?m=1
And I second Mali’s second helping of Infertile Phoenix. That was a great elevator post.
I just realized I never thanked you for including me and this post in the Roundup, Mel. You have always been so supportive of the CNBC corner of this community, and most of us who appear in that video “met” each other through blogging — including Pamela, whom I found through your blogroll! We owe you! <3