Saturday Evening Post

The end to a wild week has come. This week saw some changes around M3, and it is time to settle in with a cuppa. There is a mystery to be solved as well. Are you in? There is bug spray on the table over there if you need some, but the fans are keeping it cool.

Statistics

In a week where I was literally missing for three days, the power of my images are evident. If you are not adding images to your posts, you are missing the opportunity for search engines to reach out to your blog. Two-thirds of M3’s traffic on the 3rd and 4th were people in search of the eagle images which I have used.

If you have not noticed, there is a new word meter on the left sidebar. The green one at the top right is for words on M3. The red one is for books I am writing. I hope you follow along to see how they are coming.

Publishing a book was not in the cards this week, as I had hoped it would be. On the other hand, much progress ticked on the meter for the (half dozen) WIP. I am not deterred, my outlook for the coming week is good.

Speaking of books… have you taken the new poll? (It is coming down tomorrow.)

Kudos

The front got really quiet. Seems when I am not here, there is not much to talk about between you. The absence of Friday Follies this week was novel. It is only the second Friday without Follies in eight months. Many thanks to those who came by to rubberneck and see if I had come to my senses and posted something.

Many more thanks to those of you who identified with Mantra’s poem and found your way to the inbox and telephone. Your calls and emails are deeply appreciated.

Normalcy

It appears next week will bring M3 back to normal (term used rather loosely).

Flash in the Pan is set for tomorrow (barring another catastrophe).

Mantra gets serious about interpersonal relationships.

Writer’s Spotlight will feature and interesting lady with a very unique book.

MAD, which failed to post according to schedule in my absence Thursday (go WP), will hopefully stir you up for children.

Friday Follies will be a double edition.

These are just the things which are expected from M3.

More

In combing through archives to find some posts which will be moving to a new location, I found some ends we left dangling after the Mate & Quaint serials. The Ask Momma box has some questions which have not been explored. There are two more series which are skeletons in need of flesh.

If you would like to see M3 cover something in particular, hover your mouse over the About Momma tab on the top header to see the Ask Momma button. Consider this your personal invitation to non-hatemail…or hatemail as the case may be.

Dramamine

Some long awaited changes are moving forward on M3. The overhaul of the Coffee Shoppe is in its third week. With any luck, it will be ready by the next SEP. The pages in the Map (which should really be called the Atlas) will be getting a face lift as well. I am preferring fewer page hits to make them more convenient for the M3 Readers.

Right Turn, Clyde!

Right turn, Clyde.

Next month the big boys will be leaving teenagerdom. This officially puts half of the children in their twenties. However, that still leaves a couple in the midst of the teenage angst.

I refuse to subscribe angst to merely an age. Read that again slowly.

Merriam Webster defines angst as…

 a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity”

Of course, the example provided is teenage angst. In their metamorphosis from childhood to adulthood, teenagers enter many situations and interactions which cause anxiety, apprehension and insecurity. So many events cause all three, not just one.

Let’s get real. Angst is at any age. Any of the following apply to you?

  • Disappointed someone let you down.
  • Wonder if your job will hold out until retirement.
  • Miffed Mate left that chore undone…again.
  • Nervous about meeting new members of Mate’s family.
  • Hate the dynamic of social settings.
  • Cold feet.
  • Prefer to stay home and starve than face the crowd.
  • Butterflies going into a new situation.
  • Bent because others are comparing you to themselves…and finding you lacking.

Caught you, did I not? Angst belongs to everyone.

E.V.E.R.Y.O.N.E.

I am a forty-something who suffers from angst on a regular basis. While I am far from insecure in most endeavors, I still have my moments where I wonder why I bother… with much of anything.

No.

I do know there are a great number of people touched by me… and not in that sexual offender kind of way. Some people are truly moved by my poignant perspective, which is not a fish eye view of the world. It is far more like using the Hubble telescope to look at a hangnail.

One of my mottoes, which could well be a tagline, is:

I point out the obvious.

While I may not use the Captain Obvious manner, I am using an index finger to indicate the marks from the bark on your forehead where you are drumming it on a sequoia planted firmly in front of the forest. While someone is busy looking at the splinter in their thumb, I am pointing out the compound fracture of their arm…attached to the hand.

Yes.

Occasionally, I have bark on my forehead. I am very fortunate to be able to sidestep and look my own existence and ask myself…

Were you thinking?

No.

I do not ask, What were you thinking? Why not?

In fact, if you were thinking at all, you would have seen the fundamental flaws which would have kept you from making this colossal disaster area, which will take an act of Congress to clean and a time frame measured best in decades.”

Anxiety

The majority of situations which cause me angst are my interpersonal relationships with people in my social circles. I also have a pharmacological philosophy which supports the abolition of the anxiety…

Apprehension

Fear is a powerful motivator and a massive inhibitor. This is a lesson I have learned by watching others. The only thing I fear is what my children do not fear. Everything else is just a twist in the coaster. I embody the tagline No Fear.

Some people use fear as a way to get themselves out of bed to prevent the impending disaster. It stirs them out  of self-imposed reverie, although many have to smell the coffee beans turn to ashes.

Fear can cripple anyone. It goes hand-in-hand with…

Insecurity

When no one validates your efforts or acknowledges your existence, it is difficult to be secure in the wholesomeness of your actions. This realization does not mean what you do is less valuable. In fact, at many times, it makes it even more valuable. It becomes a treasure waiting to be discovered by the tenacious one who will dirty the shovel to find it.

I can honestly tell you, when a tree falls in the forest, it does make a sound. I know. I have been the tree.

Until next time,

Red Signature


Have you experienced angst? Which portion is the resident in your life? What do you do to curb it?

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39 Comments

  1. Good to see you back. I hope you got your work all done. As you can tell, you’ve been missed, and I for one have missed you.
    Half your kids in their 20’s, my how they grow so fast.
    Hope you had a nice 4th of July.
    Hugs a plenty! xx
    Deb recently posted..Violet the Squirrel FlapperMy Profile

    Reply
    • Another one of those Momma-isms is: They are only this ages once. It helps us embrace the fun! Big {HUGZ} Red. xxx

      Reply
  2. Red,

    I’ve missed coming over here for a nice dish of Zen served up with a nice side of spice and sass. Deliciously satisfying, and leaving me with a desire to always have some seconds.

    I busted out laughing at your anxiety medication. I need to get me that kind of prescription!

    Thanks for brightening my day.
    Phil recently posted..Music Passion – July is for the Birds…My Profile

    Reply
    • You are quite welcome. And the buffet is open. It is a wonderful prescription. My doctor thinks my dosing is far superior to his 😉

      Reply
  3. Fear….the only thing I truly fear is the end.
    Bearman recently posted..Editorial Cartoon: Obama’s Wedding ChapelMy Profile

    Reply
    • I have a hard time believing the end could be any worse than the middle…

      Reply
  4. Red, I am always touched by your posts and what you have to say, And Yes we can all of us get that thought at times of why do we bother… But WE do… Because WE care..
    Your posts are always enlightening to me.. and I so admire your style of writing.. and you with still a young family to deal with..
    mine have flown the nest..
    But your words of advice and experience I always feel comes across well.. as you entwine it with lots of humour..
    So Thank you for ALL of your posts.. I just wish I had more Time to visit every day.. But I spread my own self out thinly across my own personal space and the internet space.. And thank you, for I learnt something yet again.. About photos and search engines.. So a Big Thank YOU..
    Sue xoxox Hugs x
    Sue Dreamwalker recently posted..Illuminating Blogger AwardMy Profile

    Reply
    • You are so very sweet, Sue. You are a blogger who touches her audience as well. I am glad you are able to find the pearls amongst the garlic pods. I try to leave at least one in the posts. I hope you have had a restful weekend. Glad to see you today! {HUGZ} Red.

      Reply
  5. As a Anxiety Disorder sufferer most of the following errr… previous apply to me. I hate social gatherings which make me a bit of a loner most of the time.
    Tony McGurk recently posted..Thunderstorms Are ScaryMy Profile

    Reply
    • Anxiety is one of the may symptoms of my agoraphobia. I have lots of experience with it, so can fully appreciate your social gathering anxiety. It is one of the advantages of the virtual world…you can leave before dinner without anyone thinking you rude.

      Reply
  6. I think we all have anxiety of some sort. It does make us more human and easier to relate to each other when we see we are not perfect. I have learned that… though I wish I had learned it in an easier way!
    Christy Birmingham recently posted..Neighbours And PoetryMy Profile

    Reply
    • You and I both! It really does help us connect on a human level. I feel like when we fail to recognize the frailty of others, we lose a bit of our own humanity. Great to see you tonight! xxx

      Reply
  7. –Red,
    I ‘ve Missed You <3

    My Cure For Anxiety = WINE.

    Xx
    My Inner Chick recently posted..Magic Bars, Sweetened Condensed Milk & Madonna.My Profile

    Reply
    • Hey, Kimmy! You are on my itinerary for tonight. I have been off a lot for the last two weeks, so I have gobs of catching up to do. I like your cure as well 😉 I am thinking the carafe of blackberry Merlot may well be calling my name as we speak! xxx

      Reply
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