776th Friday Blog Roundup

It was Linus’s third birthday this week.

We took glamour shots to mark the occasion. That’s when we put him on a white backdrop and snap hundreds of photos while he stares at us with a hopeful expression, sometimes sniffing the camera to see if it’s an alfalfa cookie.

Linus at three is very similar to Linus at two. He has learned how to use his nose to push open the side door to his cage if we unlock it. He still begs for a Cheerio any time I pour myself a bowl. He loves any kind of lettuce and apples. He dislikes celery and kale unless it is slightly wilted. He still hates nail clippings and loves having his back stroked.

Happy birthday, Linus!

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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:

• “Life After Infertility: One Decade, Many Thoughts” (Silent Sorority)
• “5 Years Ago & Now” (Infertile Phoenix)

Okay, now my choices this week.

No Kidding in NZ looks back on her blogging year, which also gives her insight into what was on her mind during the last 365 days. She writes, “Sixty times last year, I thought about writing about not having children, I thought about the positives and negatives of my situation, and I thought about what you might want or need to hear about. Sixty times I reminded myself to be honest.” It’s a great look back on a year.

Whereas Infertile Phoenix takes a longer look back at the scope of five years. By looking at the same day, five years apart, she tells the story of change. From first embryo transfer to first day of a new job, it’s about how our experiences shape us.

Finally, Lavender Luz asks an important question: It’s 2020. Why do we struggle when it comes to telling kids about adoption? We’re entering the fourth decade of more openness in adoption, yet she explains: “A few times a month, someone will ask in a social media adoption group WHEN is the best time to tell their child they were adopted. And WHEN to disclose information about that child’s birth family.” When is now; as in, from birth, even before a child understands so they always have access to their own story. It’s a great post, full of resources for talking about adoption.

The roundup to the Roundup: Happy third birthday, Linus. 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 January 3rd and January 10th) 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.