Blog intentions

Welcome to my latest blog, which I am calling First Draft: Musings and Observations. Or some such. My intention is to use the blog structure and its public nature as a way to tell stories, make comments and observations, and share readings, links, images, etc. Maybe something further will emerge at some point.

Blogs hadn’t been invented yet when I first dreamed of an online space that I wanted to call Letters to the Editor, where I would post all the letters that didn’t get published — or I never sent. When I left Brooklyn for western Massachusetts in 2006 after living in New York City for two decades, the blog I did write, Heading Home Again, was essentially letters to my mother about my new life. That ended in 2010, because Facebook. Leaving Facebook and moving to another state, this time Maine, seems like a good time to pick it up again.

I intend to write vaguely interesting observations and stories on topics that might include curing my asthmatic 15-month-old through acupressure and Chinese herbs, how I learned to stop worrying and love food, why (some of us in) my nomadic family can’t seem to stop moving, why I’m conflicted about the Oxford comma, how much I miss swimming during the pandemic, and how clenching my jaw taught me that the body holds memories.

I intend to note what I’m reading, watching, and listening to from time to time. I intend to post weekly or more. This blog is not about the number of readers I acquire, it’s about making a commitment to get the first draft down on paper. I won’t be wasting my time — and I intend not to waste yours.

I welcome comments. Feel free to sign up for alerts about new posts.