Where Is My Mind

It's been... well, it's just not been very good. Honestly, this year has taken a lot out of me. I do not plan to go into a lot of detail. I do not want anyone to take this as a "poor me" post. People only see what you show them on social media. It tends to paint a very skewed picture. I am not here to do the "everything is always great" social media thing. This post is just about the things that have been going on and why I have not been present. It is about letting you know that you are not alone if things have not been going great for you either.

The year started out freshly vaccinated and ready to start some limited get-togethers. There were high hopes. It had been a hard year of distancing; especially for my mother, who lived alone. She was getting vaccinated, and we would finally feel safe to get together. In February, she started experiencing some severe complications with her health; nothing virus related. She would spend the next three months bouncing in-and-out of ER and rehab facilities. Most of May was spent visiting her nightly in ICU. A lot of the time, she was unconscious, and we would visit and talk; hoping it brought her some comfort. She finally passed toward the end of May, and we had to scramble for funeral arrangements. Nothing had been planned. It just was not something that she wanted to do. She was going to live forever.

Unfortunately, that just was not the case. She was always my biggest fan and supporter. She was the first person to comment on my website. She was the person I called when I was on long drives and needed someone to keep me awake a little longer. She was always there; until she was not. We got through things, but there is still a lot to do. I do not have the energy for it. I have not even had the energy to go bird. I sleep in on the weekends....

Last month, Carmen and I went on vacation. It had been planned for a year. It was a nice distraction, but it has not changed anything. In the coming days or weeks, I will start posting about my vacation. I am not asking you or anyone to dwell on the issues and misfortunes of my year while you look through them. I just want you to understand that there is another side to the birding and vacations that I post about here. If you are having a tough year (now or anytime, really), you are not alone. We all have normal, boring lives, too; sometimes mixed with personal misfortunes.

That's it, really. I appreciate that some of you are interested enough in the pictures I post to come here and look at them. I will slowly get my feet back up under me and return to more consistent birding and posting. In the meantime, things may be a bit sparse here. Sometimes, we just need time. Again, this is not a "poor me" post. It is about letting other people know that we all have issues at times, and that is okay.

Thanks for reading,

Mike