731st Friday Blog Roundup

I have been dealing with a paperwork balagan for two weeks.  Like… think goat rodeo involving very long hold times followed by repeating the same story over and over again to people who all state, “whoa, this is a problem,” but do not seem to be able to get to the solution for said problem.

There are issues that don’t have a solution.  Like… for instance… infertility.  But my situation has a fairly straightforward solution.  It just needs to be implemented.  And sooner would be better.

I feel a little bit like Alice in Wonderland, trying to get the hookah-smoking caterpillar or the Mad Hatter to have a rational conversation with me.  And like Alice, I feel a little bit apart from everything right now because all of my emotional energy is either going toward dealing with this situation or deep breathing to keep my blood pressure down.

Hopefully I’ll emerge soon.  I mean, this has to end at some point… right?  There will be a day that I won’t have to listen to hold music.  I think.

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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.

A Separate Life has a post about life, in general, but it contains a moment of attending an aunt-in-law’s memorial service and being unable to tell the people around her that it’s also the anniversary of her mother’s death.  She writes, “It felt weird to be unable to honour my mother by mentioning the anniversary or by talking about her. But I knew – as set out in the Circles of Grief principle – that this day was not about me.”  It’s a wonderful insight, but it made me think about all the times we need to squelch our own feelings.  Maybe squelch isn’t the right word, but I think about all the things we hide in order to not dump them in someone else’s lap.  It’s just food for thought.

My Path to Mommyhood has a post about leaving behind items they didn’t want to bring into their new house.  She has been driving around with them in her trunk, but a visit to a cabin over the weekend gave her the idea of giving them a new home.  She writes, “This was a way to give those books a home where they’ll be loved in a getaway setting, loved by lots of tiny hands.  And it got my backseat to be a little less weighed down with sadness and heartbreak.”  Letting go, as she says, is a process.

Lastly, In Search of a Binky Moongee has a post about seeing a sight she thought she’d never get to see: her children running back and forth.  So many people take those small moments for granted.  She explains, “I don’t always think about my past of trying so hard to have these kids. But that day I did, especially hearing the sounds of those little feet pounding on the floor.”  It’s a sweet moment tying back to an earlier wish from a friend.  It’s nice when you see someone’s wish come true.

The roundup to the Roundup: Can’t someone compose better hold music?  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 February 8th and 15th) 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.