Just a pretty image of ice on a sunflower from a couple of days ago ...

Friendship

I've been thinking about friendship since a good friend of mine from Wyoming called me last night, with a mini-crisis and I was pleased to hear from them, but also wished it would be under better circumstances. With all our moving in the last three plus years, I've been grateful for the friends that have kept in touch, and so much of it is through the internet. Sometimes you'll hear people bemoan the internet, and that contacts are sometimes "superficial." I suppose that is true with some people and some circumstances, but for me, this blog, e-mail, and, yes, even Facebook, is a good way to not feel distant from people, but to feel like I'm participating in their lives. I love to go to my daughter's blog and see what she and her family are doing. Reading even a stranger's blog about farm life has helped me feel less isolated in my new life here on the farm. It was very comforting, for example, to learn that other women don't get thorough instructions from their men!

Because of my circumstances in Trenton - where I was basically ordered to write non-controversial subjects and stick to the grandchildren-type topics - I've gradually taken the blog away from where I envisioned it, which was more social, political commentary and thoughts about aging and life in general. One of my professors pointed out that I'm no longer under those restructions, perhaps I should re-consider the purpose here. I think I will. I'm not sure what will come of it, or how much time I'll devote until the summer, but I'm contemplating doing more contemplating. But never fear, The Man, The Boy and the grandkids will always be featured ...