939th Friday Blog Roundup

We are still in the throes of making our college choices, which means a lot of visits to college campuses. One of the nice things to come out of this stressful process is visiting old friends who are now professors on said campuses. I saw a friend I hadn’t seen in 24 years beyond the Facebook screen.

He met us at the end of a tour, and it was so bittersweet to hug someone who knew me from this different part of life. Like missing an old version of yourself while being grateful you can access it again. It felt like Alice returning to Wonderland and hanging out with the Mock Turtle for an afternoon.

It made me realize there’s still a purpose to reunions in this day and age where you can keep up with people on social media. There’s something different about getting a chance to be in the same room again.

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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 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. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• ” #MicroblogMondays: “This timeline is the only one we’ve got” (The Road Less Travelled)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Scientist on the Roof asks an important question: How do you get yourself out of a bad mood, especially when the things you used to do are no longer feasible? She also questions whether the feelings are coming from her or “am I mirroring people around me (some of them are going through some very difficult times) and absorbing their emotions?” It’s a good question.

Lastly, Bereaved and Blessed declared her 16th word of the year. I will make you click over to see what it is, but it’s remarkable that she has done this for over a decade and a half. Congratulations!

Finally, Dear John recounts a difficult trip she took with her daughter on the anniversary of his death. It was a beautiful place, but she was sad. She writes, “I feel inadequate and disappointed. Probably because I’m not up to conquering the world as easily as I could with your help.” I don’t think we’re always aware of our role in another person’s life — how we just make conquering the world conquerable by being beside them. It was a profound line I thought about after reading it.

The roundup to the Roundup: Seeing old friends. 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 March 31 – April 14) 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.