I almost didn’t come back.
To Blog World, that is.
I had a wonderful break from you all.
(No offense.)
No deadlines. No pressure. No skimming when I’d rather savor. No frantic ramblings or desperate Google searches for post ideas. No struggles for what to say in a comment. No second guessing cryptic spam messages. No hurt feelings. No insecurities wondering if my writing is “good enough.” No more incomplete sentences.
But……..and it’s a big BUT…..
No one to share my off-the-wall ideas with. No inspiration from reading your posts. No cracking myself up over the absurdities of spam or Yahoo headlines. No commiserating or sharing or giggling with you all. No new ideas. No one to shake the cobwebs off the little dusty corners of my brain. No. No-thing. Nope.
I honestly toyed with the idea of not coming back. I don’t really know why. I just enjoyed the laziness of not logging onto a computer every single day, multiple times a day.
But then, something happened to me at a stop light and I thought, ‘Oooooo! Great post idea! First I’ll tell them this. And then I’ll share with them that. And then…..wait, Smarty Pants. I thought you were giving up the blog?’
Give up the blog? Who am I kidding? I have too much to share. Too much to say. And I’ve made too many darn blogging friends that I’d hate to lose touch with. Oh sure, I could just read and comment. But we inspire each other with our posts. And frankly, I’d hijack too many of your blogs with long-winded comments if I didn’t have a blog of my own for an outlet. It wouldn’t be pretty.
And, I refuse to become a statistic. (Average lifespan of a blog being approximately 2 years) Since I’ve been blogging only 16 months I’d bring down the average. I just can’t take on that responsibility.
So.
I’m back.
On a further abbreviated schedule. (For you fellow OCD visual learners out there my pretty little calendar will be highlighted on M, W and F — in case you were wondering.)
But, I’m back. I couldn’t stay away. From writing. From you all.
I’m back.
And it feels good to be home.
Theycallmejane's Blog 
Welcome home, Jane! The tea’s on in Hammond River if you’d care to come for a visit…we missed you!
Wendy
….with sugar and a little cream, please!
Welcome back Jane! Glad you decided to return. I’d have quit blogging a year ago if I had a schedule of posts to meet. I just post when the urge strikes me, no pressure, no worries. I wonder all the time why I’m doing this and why I bother, but as long as I’m having fun and not hurting anybody (hopefully not boring them either!) I’m going to keep coming back and hope you do too.
I will admit I get a LOT more done when I take a cyber break though!
I’m too OCD not to have a schedule. Schedules keep me sane (or maybe that makes me insane, I don’t know). I’m too goal oriented to give up a schedule. But pairing down a schedule? Hopefully, that’ll do the trick!
Glad to have you back! I’m on abbreviated schedule, too, and I cannot say enough about it. It rocks. Hope you had a great time at Hades (ahem, I mean Disney).
Disney (never, ever Hades — you have to let me take you on a trip! Honestly. I’ll be your private tour guide and you will LOVE the place!) was AWESOME! It was, by far, my best trip EVER! (And I’ve been about 30 times) More to come on that adventure, for sure!
Welcome Back!!! There was definitely something missing from my inbox and my daily subscription posts. The blogosphere wasn’t the same. Happy to hear you had a great break and I can hardly wait to read all about it.
Thanks for missing me! It’s great to be back.
Welcome home! It’s the holiday season. There is a lot of angst going about so yes you need your blog to keep yourself sane!
Angst? Where? Lol….bring it on baby! I’ve still got Disney magic in my pocket!
Welcome back. Blogging should always be a pleasure, never a chore. A break is a good way to recharge the batteries and remember why you write and read in the first place. I’m happy that one of the people I like to read has returned after her hiatus.
You are just too kind, Sir Steven!
Welcome back Jane! I am so glad you are going to continue to blog. I think blogging (after you do it enough) becomes a part of who you are and it feels unnatural when you stop.
Can’t wait to read about your travels!
Then stay tuned! Disney certainly provided lots of blog material. I’ll have to be careful not to bore you all!
Welcome back! We missed you!
I’ve missed all of you, too! Thanks for noticing my absence.
Welcome back! Glad you took your break. And glad you decided not to make it permanent. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Hooray! So nice to see you back here. Looking forward to more of your witty and wise reflections. xo
Somehow I can see why you wanted to quit blogging and I’m glad you decided not to.
I bet you looked at writing posts for your blog was more of a chore than doing it for fun, a responsibility of you just had to post something.
I love reading blogs, have found lots of inspirations in blog posts, found new friends and I admit, even customers for my shop, learned a lot and have laughed a lot but would never blame a blog owner for not posting for a while. I admire each blog owner for their creativity of writing and the amount of time they invest in their blogs. I think it really takes a lot to come up with the idea for a new post almost every day and not even to mention the eternal fight against spam.
Best Regards
Paula Jo
YAY! Jane! * HUGS * I missed you. I was just thinking about you last night, in fact. I’ve been there, where I almost decided not to return to the blog world. It can be such a hassle sometimes. Everything you spoke about before your big but? So true. So. True. I’m glad you’ve returned, though. Things wouldn’t be the same on the block without you.
I noticed that you did not come back until the calendar changed months–I bet you planned your vacation this way. Thinking, “If I blog again in November, my calendar could be off…No. No. No. I will wait and write a post for the first day of a new month.
Welcome home…We left the light on!
♥
LOL! You know me sooooo well! That is EXACTLY what I was thinking!
So thrilled you are back 🙂
Welcome back! I missed you and would have been disappointed if you hadn’t come back. But I do recognize that sometimes things become a chore. I’ve found that if my favorite things to do are turned into a “must do” I don’t want to do it anymore. I’m not looking for a job. So now I blog if I feel like, about what I feel like. I think it’s good brain exercise and mine needs that!
I was excited to see you pop up in my reader! I’m glad you’re back! 🙂
We missssseed you! Welcome back!
I almost didn’t come back myself, but blogging is in my blood, ya know? I just couldn’t stay away.
I so hear you. I’ve been kind of hit or miss the last couple of months, and it was kind of nice not to feel the pressure. But it’s a great creative outlet, so I’m trying to get back into it again. I’ve missed your posts!
Welcome back.
Now be careful and don’t burn yourself out by trying to keep to a rigid blogging schedule. I would rather have one meaningful post from you a week for years then one a day for the next 8 months (when you hit 2 years). The only pressures bloggers really have are self-imposed … that is what I like about it.
I am looking forward to reading your many new ideas and thoughts (… no pressure, though ;0)
Welcome back! I don’t like to see the bloggers I admire go… though I understand the toying with the quitting-idea, been there too (and I’ve only been at it for 4 months, mind you 😉 ). Great to have you back, looking forward to your tales!
Isn’t that moment just delicious? That moment when you know that you’ve just found an idea that actually excites you for your next blog post? Whew, what a load off!
I can understand the feelings about deadlines and when it loses some of its fun. Shortly after I started I made a commitment to everyday blogging. That means I have to come up with something every single day. It can be hard. The last day I missed was Oct. 5, 2009, so I have a nice streak going.
Glad you are back in the saddle. You are one of the greats. Now giddy up, yee haw!
Glad you’re back…I would have missed you!
Very happy to see you back in my Google Reader again. One thing is for sure…once you begin blogging, it seems to just get into your DNA! But we all need to take breaks, and I hope you enjoyed life sans blogging while you were rejuvenating yourself. Everything in moderation…..
Nice to see you back, I’ve missed you!
I hope you enjoyed your break.
Welcome back, Jane! I may not always comment, but I do always look forward to seeing your posts in my inbox. I suspected you might have been having doubts about the blogging…glad you decided to stay!
I’m coming back from my vacation too! I’m so glad you’re staying. You wouldn’t want me to start emailing you every day, demanding wonderful Jane tidbits, do you?
Welcome back! I missed you. 🙂
YAY! Welcome back, Jane. So nice to see you again. Though I totally get what you’re saying. It’s nice to take a brake. Necessary even. But it’s hard to stay away.