What the heck was I thinking?

When I first started saying, "I'm planning to retire" out loud, the inevitable response was, "but what will you do?" Convinced I was totally on top of this thing, I casually tossed out the first few random thoughts that entered my head: "Ride my bike more. Read more. Volunteer somewhere or other, pandemic allowing. Do some writing. Maybe write a blog?" Who knows where that last one came from, quite frankly, but it sounded good and the knowing nods and positive feedback it was met with convinced me to keep saying it. If it plays well, why not milk it?

More than a year has passed since then, and retirement day has come and gone, so here I am. At home. Staring at a blank screen on my brand-new MacBook Air. "What the heck was I thinking?" keeps running through my head. Sure, I might have a 27-year career writing, editing, and overseeing a publishing department behind me, but producing content that will appeal to anyone but a few polite friends and family members (who likely won't feel compelled to pretend interest for long!) is quite something else.

Let's get something straight. I'm not trying to become a writer, and I'm not looking for fame. In an impetuous moment, I had the insane thought that it might be fun to use my writing abilities to amuse, entertain, and occupy (mainly) myself. And having voiced that notion, now I have to produce something or I might jeopardize my reputation for candour, or worse, be relegated to filling my time with cooking and cleaning, a fate only marginally better than death.

Frankly, I'd be delighted if two people continue to read this (not including my immediate family; you’re on the hook for all of it).

So, dear reader, welcome to what promises to be a real hodgepodge of a blog (hence the name). I frankly confess, I have no idea what I’m doing here. I hope you’ll stick around to see if I figure it out.

And if you want a heads’ up when I post, check out @MsFluffster on Mastodon.

Posted September 18, 2021 (edited November 28, 2022)