Tuesday, July 20, 2010

One thousand

There are a thousand dots in my illustration. That is how many posts I have written on this blog as of today. 1000. It blows my mind. It has been nearly 5 years that I have been doing this, so that averages out at about 200 per year. I know a lot of bloggers write every single day. Some more than once a day, so my thousand isn't that big a deal in general terms, but it is a big deal to me.

I have been trying to think of something special to write or do or show to mark this thousandth post and I haven't been able to come up with anything. Some of the posts have been carefully written, some just photos, some silly somethings gleaned from the internet. Some I remember writing and knowing that I had learned something from myself, but mostly it has been a day to day kind of journal. Of these thousand posts, can I think of a favorite? Maybe. There was one I wrote in response to a post my fellow Twelve, Kirsten wrote. It was a writing exercise that comes from a poem by George Ella Lyons. I wrote this in February of 2008. That was almost halfway from the beginning to this point. It still expresses my feelings, so I am reprinting here.

I Am From . . .


I am from The Saturday Evening Post, from Grapenuts and the Postwar Baby Boom.

I am from Maplewood Street, Elm trees, sagebrush, the Portneuf River, hot, dry summers and bitter cold winters.

I am from the desert, the mountains, the sky. I am from the sound of trains in the night.

I am from singing in the car and laughing til we peed our pants, from Grandpa Ern ("you be Frank and I'll be Ernest") and Shelton earlobes and Howard hair.

I am from handmade is better than store bought.
From "never tolerate intolerance" and "life is grand if you don't weaken."
I am from the little Methodist church and the Carnegie Library and the Woolworth and the Okay Market.

I'm from a homestead in Colorado, a farm in Montana, the foot of the mountains in Idaho, from baked potatoes and cheese enchiladas.

From Jimmy who saw Betty for the first time and said, "There's the girl I'm going to marry" and Betty who thought she "might die" if she didn't marry him; and black and white TV and a succession of Ford Station wagons.

I am from Dad's darkroom and family photos and silver dollars. From fresh trout and starry nights, the smell of woodsmoke and wool blankets; the love of books and babies and card games and road trips and a good story.

I am from love that was demonstrated daily but never talked about. I am from family. 


My thanks to those of you who read and comment. I never realized that it would be so great to have this connection.

16 comments:

  1. Very exciting for reaching 1000....I just started in January and I am on 52 posts. Way to go!! Keep it up :)

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  2. CONGRATULATIONS on hitting the 1000 mark!!!
    I LOVE reading your posts!!! even though I don't always comment as I read them through bloglines.

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  3. I really enjoyed that exercise, and I love your poem. Congratulations on your 1000th post. :-)

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  4. A big congrats on having made 1000 posts. Impressive.

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  5. I remember that post. I got so emotional while reading it the first time--and just now. You drew such an expressive "picture" with those words. If it was set to music, it would be famous.

    As a blogger trying to make 1000, I know it isn't easy. It's work on an enjoyable level, but still, work. Bravo!

    And thank you for being on the net where I could find you,get to know you and have coffee with you every morning and sometimes (now) in the middle of the night.

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  6. Anonymous9:25 PM

    Congratulations! I always enjoy your blog, even though we've never met... And I LOVE your work-- esp. the way you will tackle some totally different subject matter, and the work will still look distinctively yours.

    --Lorraine

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  7. Anonymous9:48 PM

    Beautiful Terry, and nice memories for me, too.

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  8. Wonderful Terry and thank you for sharing your world with us. Happy 1000th!

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  9. Never thought to count when each post actually has value and content that matters to me. thank you for being open and real.

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  10. I look forward to your next 1000.

    I love the you that you are.

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  11. A thousand! That's a lot of thoughts.
    Here's to a thousand more.
    That poem is my favorite, too. I am from there, too, but I couldn't say it as beautifully or lovingly as you.

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  12. Anonymous9:08 AM

    I do love that post. It makes me think of my own memories. I appreciate having your blog to read, enjoy, and sometimes reflect on. Thanks, Marken

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  13. Thank you for posting again the lovely, moving poem. It touched me to my core. BarbR =!=

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  14. Lovely. Thank you.

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  15. Anonymous8:59 PM

    Congrats on your 1000th post and Thank you for having this blog. Your blog is the first one I ever read and I have followed it almost the whole 5 years. I feel I know you well - even tho you don't know me from Adam's housecat. I've learned a lot from you and hope to keep reading these great epistles. Carol - a fellow Idahoan.

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