Finding more balance…

You may have noticed I’ve not been blogging much. Nor have I been commenting on blogs as much. This is my 37th post of the year. By this time last year I had written more than one hundred.

Part of the reason is that after blogging 365 days last year, I was just TIRED of all things bloggy. Also, I found Twitter and Facebook last fall, which gave me other ways to share what was on my mind.

But the biggest reason, at least recently, is that I’m trying to find more balance in my life. I finally realized that I was spending a ton of time on the computer (reading blogs, Twittering, Facebooking) because I was bored. Not that there’s anything WRONG with killing time on the computer, really. But I was doing it way too much. I mean, I’d be on the computer for HOURS, knowing I didn’t want to be.

Late last year it started to dawn on me that the computer and my camera were beginning to become substitutes for living my life. Blogging and photography can be excellent ways to remember the things that happen in life. But I was starting to feel PRESSURE to take photos to remember what happened in my life. And then I felt PRESSURE to sort through hundreds of photos I’d taken and put them on Flickr and my blog.

Truthfully, Ed and I are not doing much more or less than we did several months ago. But by not worrying about having material for the blog, I think I’m enjoying what we’re doing more. I still have hundreds of photos of our trips out and about that I may never edit. And I’m o.k. with that. They’ll be there if I ever want them.

As for my other computer diversions, I’m doing my best to be on the computer when I WANT to be, not because I’m bored or feeling like I have nothing else to do.

Ed and I are talking more (and we talked a LOT before — this IS me we’re talking about). I’m feeling generally more settled. I have more room in my head for things that matter. And I’m READING a lot more. I’d missed reading, and I knew it. Including last Sunday, I’ve finished three books (Still Alice, The Unlikely Disciple, and It Sucked and Then I Cried) and started one other (The Associate). I had a business trip with about six hours in an airplane, which helped with uninterrupted reading time, but still… I can’t remember the last time I read so many books in such a short period of time.

I am a much happier camper. Now, I’m off to find my next book. Any suggestions?