At times, my thoughts run wild as to the topic we’ll cover in our post on any particular day. Let’s face it, after over 3100 new posts. The subjects may be thin and repetitive. I don’t deny this. How we manage to hold the attention of our worldwide readers often baffles us, a topic Tom and I often discuss based on the sheer wonder of it all.

Although I don’t spend more than a few minutes each morning contemplating the day’s topic, at times, I’m left staring into space, wondering what’s on the agenda today. But, this dilemma is short-lived. I press my fingers onto the keyboard and let them, as “they” said, “do the talking.”

No doubt, the redundancy is glaring at times. Even I recall a topic I may have written about 2000 posts ago. Somehow they are all decorated in my mind, popping into the forefront, the minutes I start to type. Oddly, today’s very topic didn’t precipitate or surface any recall of a former post. But I could be wrong. I’m often wrong.

Being wrong is the “nature of the beast.” It’s impossible to avoid errors, misuse of the English language, for which I often zealously assume I have a reasonable mastery. That may be wrong also.

Oh, my. Certainly, I’m known to use the same adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, and so forth, as described here ad nauseam. It would help if you got sick of me from time to time. Even the few “haters” who read our posts, one of which refers to us as a “train wreck,” continue to read for whatever perverse satisfaction she may glean from coming back over and over again.

Tom, a railroad man for 42½ years, knows what a train wreck is, and it is not us. But, perception is everything. I ask the universe if you hate something and have the option to avoid it without consequence, then, by all means, avoid it without effect. Does she think that her hateful dissertations in an email or “comments” are going to change how we do this?

Yesterday, I received a thoughtful message from a reader reminding me that I misuse the word “alas.” She included the definitions from a reliable online dictionary source, and I thoroughly agreed with her. Her message was kind and considerate. I took no offense. As we advance, I will be more mindful of my use of the word “alas,” thanks to her well-written and well-intentioned interjection in a private email.

Would I continually appreciate comments and observations regarding words I may use incorrectly or in a slang manner? Probably not. After all, this is not an essay contest. This is a log of our daily lives, both perfect and imperfect and mostly somewhere in between. I dare anyone to write daily, over 3000 times, over eight years and not make verbiage, punctuation, and spelling errors.

At one time in my life, I was a perfectionist. I gave that up when we began this journey, knowing full well that being perfect in this year’s long world journey would not serve me well, only resulting in frustration and stress. Now, I wear the same shirt for two days, misspell words in posts and texts, and haphazardly draw on a disappearing eyebrow, a byproduct of old age,

Over the years, I’ve learned that no one will say they were glad to be a perfectionist on one’s deathbed. They will espouse love, life, adventures, and contentment, of which we’ll have plenty.

Be happy. Be well. Thanks for being here.

Photo from one year ago today, April 15, 2020:

Beach view in Kapaa, Kauai six years ago today at this link. For the year-ago post, please click here.