Mental Quarantine

The problem with maintaining a blog is the unwritten promise the blogger makes to the audience: “if you read my posts, I will keep the content interesting.” That’s a daunting commitment, one that must be addressed by anyone who aspires to blog.

If one’s life is interesting enough, this shouldn’t be too difficult. Generally, writing about whatever’s on your mind at the time fills the bill. On our blog, that’s sustained us fairly well for almost five years now (holy cow—I had no idea until I composed this sentence!). It becomes a problem, however, when one falls ill (see Laid Low). Being sick focuses one’s attention remarkably—I’m having incredible trouble thinking of anything else, awake or asleep. That doesn’t mean I should be blogging about it, though.

I find no insights, no pithy morals or platitudes, no wry observations of human nature in the recovery process. There may be a certain amount of humor to be salvaged from the situation, but to be honest, I don’t feel confident enough in my present mental state to trust that it will translate to the blog.

I am in quarantine, not only physically, but mentally.

Our health continues to improve slowly. Michelle returned to work last week. I’m actually getting dressed in the mornings—even going so far as to put on shoes!

That’s good news, and it is news, but hardly blogworthy.

This, theoretically, is the time to draw from the considerable backlog of drafts I culled from my involvement with another blog. Unfortunately, these are almost all on the pedantic end of the post spectrum, lots of how-to and advice—the kind of blogging I find heavy handed, so I try to dole it out sparingly. Besides, they are drafts, and require finishing before presentation. This effort draws heavily on my creative juices, which run thinnest when I’m sick.

It can’t last. I’ll return to the work of the “homestead” soon. The increased activity will stimulate thought, which will generate blog posts of the quality to which you, the regular reader, have grown accustomed. Hopefully, too, that’ll get me back to answering emails as well, another area that seems to require more thought and creativity than I have managed of late.

They say confession is good for the soul. If you have, at any time, felt the blog has become too self indulgent, I hope you see how I strive against that, in the effort to provide quality content.

The physical quarantine may be even worse. A friend passed away recently. His memorial was yesterday. I really wanted to pay my respects, but I couldn’t risk infecting fellow attendees—that seems a very poor way to honor his memory!

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2 Responses to Mental Quarantine

  1. Brian says:

    Get well soon! We. Will wait patiently while you do.

  2. Mark Zeiger says:

    Thanks Brian. I guess when I return, I’d better be scintillating!

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