721st Friday Blog Roundup

We finally saw Three Identical Strangers this week.  If you don’t know the documentary, it’s about the Louise Wise Services adoption agency, which purposefully separated several sets of multiples back in the 1960s and studied them over the years without the children OR their parents knowing that they had a twin/triplet somewhere in the world.

The triplets found each other back in 1980s, and the film covers their unification and life in the aftermath.  At least two other sets of twins found each other, too — one set is featured in the film (and have their own film) and another set found each other because one saw Three Identical Strangers and wondered about the possibility because her parents also used the same agency.

It’s interesting how you see a film through a certain lens. I focused on the fact that they were multiples. Josh focused on the fact that it was an adoption story. Another person could see it through the lens of family or loss or mental well-being or science.

But the night we saw the film, I had just come from going through the twins’ fourth birthday pictures. They were standing next to each other outside in front of the house, and then one took the other one’s hand. The pictures are the two of them running around the yard, ending with them hugging by the fence. And I felt physically ill watching the film because while it’s not a given that your twins will be close, to purposefully separate children after five or six months together in the bassinet is unfathomable. To withhold the possibility of that hand-holding moment is cruel. Their story has been in my heart all week.

Have you seen it?

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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.

My Perfect Breakdown explains her decision to continue her blog, despite being creeped out about some privacy issues.  She writes, “I never want someone to feel as lonely as I did when we went through our first miscarriage, or made the decision to terminate for medical reasons or even or even when we went through our last miscarriage. Experiencing multiple losses has become a defining part of who I am, and so I feel compelled to continue to share my experiences so others know they are not alone.”  I love that this is the impulse in our corner of the Internet; to give people a space to find other people who understand.

No Kidding in NZ has a great quote about bravery setting you free.  I can attest to the opposite — that a lack of bravery makes you feel really stuck.  It’s a great reminder that sometimes we have to do the hard thing and trust that we’ll get through it.  And that getting through it will release us from what is weighing us down before we take that first, brave step.

Lastly, Inexplicably Missing doesn’t know what to do next.  She begins: “I was heading somewhere, at least I thought I was. Yes, I’m sure. I had an idea of where I was going. There was a journey I was on. I was heading somewhere. But I have discovered that the trail just petered out and kind of… led to… nowhere.”  What do you do when the path you’re on doesn’t take you where you want to go?  It’s a moving post about not knowing what comes next.

The roundup to the Roundup: Three Identical Strangers is still bothering me.  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 November 23rd and November 30th) 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.