And... um... painting the garage. It was driving me crazy.

There were a couple of interesting things that I realized, without really trying.... one was that I ate almost no meat the whole time I was away. Little chicken, little bacon, some eggs, but no beef at all. I didn't miss it and to be honest, I'm not sure I like it all that much. Donald inspired me with his Pad Thai- it was very good.

I didn't miss reading the newspaper but I did miss doing the crossword puzzle.

My children are capable of putting away all their laundry, putting their dishes in the dishwasher, but the minute I walk in the door, they can't make their own lunches for school.

This, I don't mind so much. I do like making lunches- shhh. Don't tell anyone.

My life is very full. I spent too much time chasing news and not enough time with my friends. Every day, I am going to dedicate a couple hours to something that has nothing to do with the computer. Take a walk, shoot some pictures, try a new recipe, have coffee with someone who doesn't want a donation.

Which I also remembered while away, some very important advice my mother always gave me. When you start to believe you are the smartest, most beautiful in the room, instead of understanding you are writing the checks? It's time for a kick in the pants. I know a few people who need a kick in the pants.

When I take long periods of time, write, rewrite, I come up with some decent writing. When I blog quickly, I come up with ok stuff. I need to spend more time, more deeply, more thoughtfully on my writing.

But I do love to blog- which I realize is an entirely different animal. This blog has served me well. I have loved writing it. I have a fairly small audience but a very loyal one.

Thank you.

I've decided to start posting, primarily, at Bilerico.com. I will continue to post on occasion at Huffington, and have been told to consider a Daily Kos diary. I'm not sure how I'll deal with not getting the instant gratification of "publish post" so we will consider this summer an experiment. I think it's the right fit for me. I will still respond to comments, just as I always have.

I hope you don't mind following me there. I will, for a while, post a link here to the piece on Bilerico, so the RSS feed with continue to work.

I feel calmer, more confident, and more settled than I have for a long time. I think I've addressed all the different "voices" and their needs. The General feels productive, the Athlete thinks it might get some work outs in during the non computer time, the Worrier is.. well, worried you'll all stop reading, and while the Tough Guy still wants simply blow everything off, the summer filled with the beach, kids, and friends isn't such a bad idea.

I'm home.

I'm really home.