Thanks

It’s hard to believe that it is already the one year anniversary of 8 of Nine. When I started my blog a year ago, I didn’t know if I would post every week or just post a few and then quit. While I didn’t do 52 posts, I did do 40-something posts, which I think is pretty good. I also didn’t know if anyone would even read the posts, but apparently some people have stuck with me through the year. I just wanted to say “Thank You” to everybody who has visited 8 of Nine over the last year.

Whether you’ve read one post, all the posts or somewhere in between, thank you for taking the time to read all that you did. There are a lot of blogs out there, but you came to mine. I’d like to think that I offer more for your entertainment dollar than others do. For those who have posted comments, sent me emails about a post or went old-school and said something to me in person, thank you for your encouragement. Just knowing that a post made you laugh or brought back happy memories for you makes me feel that my long hours in front of the keyboard are well worth it. For those of you who have become a follower of 8 of Nine, thank you for daring to be associated with me and being willing to put yourself out there for me. It would be a huge blow to my ego if I had zero followers after one year of writing. So to all of you, thank you, thank you, thank you!

I’m very grateful that the blog anniversary coincides with Thanksgiving this year. Thanksgiving has always been one of my most favorite holidays. The turkey and all the trimmings, the pies, the football games – I loved all of them and still do. On top of that, people pause and take some time to be thankful, or more thankful, myself included. I am truly thankful for my wife, my kids, my parents, my brothers, my sisters and my friends, without whom I wouldn’t have a blog. Thanks for inspiring me and encouraging me to do something I truly love – writing.

You may be thinking, “Hey, Joe. What are you going to do to keep us amused over the next year?” Well, I have a few ideas:

·     I think it is time for a new look, so I’m going to pick a new template and change things up a bit.

·     I’ve thought of doing a series on famous family sayings that were heard around my house when I was growing up. My brothers and sisters shared some of these with me recently and I will probably write about them occasionally, here and there, as a change of pace.

·     I found a few old writings from when I was a kid and may use them as part of some posts. One is an assignment written in 1973 about what it would be like in 1999, another is a story I wrote when I was about 11 years old. There’s some funny stuff in those two items.

·     Hopefully people around me will continue to do and say things that trigger memories that are filed away in the archives of my brain. And hopefully, I’ll be able to extract those memories and write about them before they go the way of my youthful good looks, my athletic ability and my energy level.

At least that’s my plan for now, but you just never know what’s going to happen, so I guess you’ll have to keep coming back and see for yourself.

In the meantime, Happy Anniversary to 8 of Nine, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, and thank you for visiting my blog. I am truly grateful.