I don’t really leave comments on blogs any more. Most of the stuff I read is via RSS and if I am on an actual site, well, I guess I’ve gotten used to the threaded discussion features of social media platforms and writing something in a comment section feels a bit like throwing a bottle out to sea. But as a person who continues, for some ill-advised reason, to keep her own ancient blog on life support, I still love comments. Even the spambots get me briefly excited, especially the weirdly poetic ones (actual excerpt: You can see wells in many fairy tales where you make a wish, push people into them,Womens Paul Hornung Jersey, and consume it for bathing or drinking purposes.)

Anyway, if you’re out there, stop and say hi, will you? Just because … why not. Tell me where you’re spending your online time these days (me: Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, whatever’s still trickling into my Feedly, Google News, a game called Subnautica). Tell me how old your kids are (10 and 12). Tell me what job you’re doing now and whether you enjoy it (freelance writing still, marketing articles, and yes — but I really miss working with people and I keep looking for a good volunteer/part-time-something that will offer more in that department). Tell me about the last book you could not put down (Behind Closed Doors; it wasn’t the best writing in the world but it sure kept me interested). Tell me, are you doing okay? (Yes. I mean: mostly? Mostly yes. Ugh, mostly looks like MOISTLY. I am MOISTLY doing okay, MOIST of the time.)

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Deb
Deb
6 years ago

Hi Linda!

Time online is Facebook, and I blog read via Feedly. I never comment because they all want me to log in with google or blogger or some shit and I’ve forgotten all my passwords and have no energy to get them back.

Kids are son, 13 (I have no words), and daughter, 11 (still a delight). I homeschool them, so that’s my job.

I’ve been reading you since forever…maybe 9 years? Still love your voice and miss you when you take a break. In a not-creepy way, of course.

I have made IRL friends in the past few years, but still sometimes miss that connection I had with my imaginary friends posse back when Twitter was my homeschool support group. I still maintain one friendship via Snapchat and Messenger, both of us having abandoned blogging as our kids got older.

Erika
6 years ago

I spend time on all the sites (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc) but probably spend most of my time on Feedly. I keep track of everything on it: blogs, vlogs, everything.

My daughter is 6. I’m a dance instructor and security officer (I know, so different). I enjoy both. Last book I couldn’t put down? The one I’m reading but I forgot the name of it. lol SO HELPFUL.

Laura
Laura
6 years ago

This motivated me to click “Visit Website,” which I haven’t done in a loooooong time. I read all blogs via Feedly, and sometimes Facebook. I have no children, but an 18-year-old rescue mutt occupies so much of my time and care and emotional energy that sometimes it feels like I do. I plan $2,000,000/year worth of special events and I love my job so much it scares me a little. Please keep writing and talking to us. We may not respond like the old days, but we’re listening.

Alison
Alison
6 years ago

I’m so glad you keep this blog going!

Online: Facebook, horrified news surfing, briefly swearing off current events, rinse, repeat.

Kids: 5, 4 and 1

Job: SAHM currently. I used to be a lawyer and feel like my brain is turning to mush sometimes. Obviously I’m incredibly grateful and privileged to get to stay home with them but I wish I could…accomplish something sometime. Beyond folding laundry.

Books: I felt the same way about Behind Closed Doors. If you like fantasy The Broken Earth trilogy is so good. Also loved The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld (not fantasy but super dark).

Ok-ness: 2 of the 3 children are in difficult phases and I am tired. Waiting on a referral appointment for a questionable scary health thing and trying very hard not to work myself into a lather.

Nancy
Nancy
6 years ago

My online matches up with yours Instagram, Reddit, Fb-but i deleted the app from my phone because it sucks so much, whatever’s still trickling into my Feedly —which is mostly Reuters and NPR and the random blogs that still publish. My kids are 8 and 5 and I’ve been reading your blog since prekids yours and mine. I’m a preschool special ed teacher I love so many things about it but hate how many things are run but I DO Not want to run things. I’m doing okay. I’m exercising for the first time in Years! And my low grade anxiety is mostly related to things that I cannot control. (Current president, school shootings etc). I read a YA fiction book I liked about OCD recently called Every Last Word. YA fun soothes my anxiety and keeps me focused when grown up lit requires too much attention and brain power. Thank you for writing!

Lana
Lana
6 years ago

Hi Linda!

I’ve been reading your blog a long time and yours is one I keep coming back to – love your truth.

I’m from Vancouver, BC.
I have a ten year old daughter
I’m an elementary school teacher – currently teaching Kindergarten ( hold me)
I quit FB about a year ago and that was one of the best things I have done for myself, ever. I was caught in an addictive spiral of comparing my life to others and that was not good for my already anxious self.
So now I only use Instagram.
The best book EVER is “A Little Life”
My latest new favourite movie is “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” (if you haven’t watched it, you really should)
I am trying to be okay. but honestly, parts of everyday are a struggle for me. I am a fragile soul, but also a survivor. Finding a balance between the two is something I work on every damn day.

Julia
Julia
6 years ago

I’ve been reading since the diaryland days!

I love Instagram stories and use it as a text message service for my bestie who lives in the country and has crappy phone service and refuses to jump on the iPhone iChat bandwagon. I also watch a lot of mindless YouTube. I am trying to be more purposeful with my scrolling. I deleted Twitter after 45 was elected and I have hidden everything on FB except my daughter’s daily preschool photos.

My kids are a few months away from being 7 & 3. My 3 year old daughter is a daily reminder that the Reckoning is coming and I’m both delighted and fearful. She is unstoppable in every perfect frustrating way. My son is 7 and is basically me in miniature, which is humbling and weird.

I work in research administration at UW. I like it. I manage money for labs studying aging and cancer. No complaints.

The last book I couldn’t put down was Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. I’m reading a really interesting book about women and culinary history right now, though, and enjoying it more than I thought. (What She Ate.)

Yeah, I’m okay. I’m hanging in there. Lots of good, lots of learning how to be a better, more compassionate person, too.

Erin in CA
Erin in CA
6 years ago

Hi! I am so glad you still keep up your blog.

— Two kids, boy age 14 and girl age 11. I am definitely more a teen mom than a baby/toddler mom. Give me kids who also love Hamilton, can discuss current events intelligently, like the same tv shows, books and movies as me any day!

— I am mostly on IG. I sometimes check FB on my computer but it seems to be mostly ads or things I don’t care about. I read the front page of Reddit a few times a day.

— I just finished a YA novel that was fantastic: Far From the Tree. I recommend it.

— I am currently raising Guide Dogs for Guide Dogs of America here in Southern California. Right now I have an 11-week-old black lab named Vivian and she has some opinions, lol! She’s a spitfire.

So few people ask how I am and mean it. I’m… good? Hard to complain when you look around at the rest of the world, you know? I appreciate you asking. Thanks!

jac
jac
6 years ago

So many comments! I read via Feedler (iPad app reader thing) and have creepily followed your life from afar since Diaryland days. So clearly I’m old.
Kids: girls 6 and 3. They are simultaneously frustrating and hilarious.
Job: I now work for a beer company and I love it. I spent a long time in a very stressful company and the weight that lifted when I left was life-changing.
Book: reading City of Crows right now but highly recommend A God In Ruins by Kate Atkinson. I still think about it.

Lori
Lori
6 years ago

Been reading your blog since Riley birth or before… my kids are 13/11/8… I’ll actually be driving up through the Oregon/Washington area in a few weeks for the first time, excited to see that part of the country, been on our list forever!

Jennifer B
Jennifer B
6 years ago

Where I’m online these days – Reddit (divorce forum), Facebook

My kids – son 11, daughter 9

Job – administrative work very very part time from home, looking for “real” full time job after 11 years as a SAHM (scary); I enjoy it as it’s for an organization I love but it doesn’t pay the bills

Latest book – Making Divorce Work

Am I doing OK – if I’m not crying in a heap on the bathroom floor, I count it as doing OK

Have been reading you since my son was born and I was desperate for connection with a)any other adult human and b)other moms who were going through the same things. Thank you so much for your candor and humor in sharing this blog and your life with all its bumps, not to mention the fact that you are an excellent writer. Please keep sharing!

Brenda
Brenda
6 years ago

I’ve been reading here since I was pregnant with my daughter, who is a couple of weeks younger than Dylan. I also have a son who is 8. I check in on the blog every week or so, but I spend most of my time on IG. I’m desperately trying to curb my fb habit, to the point that I’ve had my husband change my password to one I don’t know. I’m not ready to quit quite yet.

I am a high school English teacher in a rural school, and while I love my students, recent events and conversations around teaching in the US have me reconsidering my career path.

Embarrassingly, I read very little for fun during the school year because I’m buried under student work and the novels I’m teaching. I did read Heart Mountain by Gretel Ehrlich this weekend. It was pretty good.

So, I’m okay. Just okay.

Cobwebs
6 years ago

Howdy. I’ve been reading your site for ages and still keep it in the ol’ RSS feed. Ever since November 2016 I’ve spent the bulk of my time on Twitter, hitting refresh like a lab rat lest I miss some part of this train wreck. My kids are 14 and 27; the 14-year-old is currently a full foot taller than his big sister, and her dismay at this situation is amusing. I’ve been doing software development for years and really enjoy it; it satisfies both my love of problem-solving and my deep dislike of interacting with other people. I’m currently reading T. Kingfisher’s “Clockwork Boys,” which is a hoot. I’m glad you still post on your blog; I enjoy your writing.

Leandra M Nessel
6 years ago

Hi! I miss the old days of blogging. I have several online friends, people I truly consider friends, that I met through the blog community. I’m so glad you’re keeping yours going. I think about re-booting mine every now and then, but never actually follow through.

I’ve thought several times about emailing you because so much of what you write about aging resonates with me. My kids are 15 and 12.

I currently work in academic fundraising. I’ve been in my current role for 11 years. Most days I enjoy it. In the next two years I may have the opportunity to take over my boss’ job but I’m currently struggling with whether I want to do it. This job requires constant hustle and I’m not sure I want to take that on at 48 years old. Or am I just afraid that I can’t do it? WHO KNOWS?!

I mostly spend my time on Facebook and occasionally Instagram. I’ve found I’m spending some time on Reddit these days, on certain subs, because it’s like the good/funny stuff from Twitter without all the assholes.

I’m currently reading The Cutting Season by Attica Locke. Mysteries and historical fiction are my jam, especially anything set during WWII in England.

Suzanne
6 years ago

I read and rarely comment, but… I read. And I love that you are blogging more. I spend less and less time online, but I do use Feedly to follow a few blogs (longing, I guess, for the blog-heavy days of yesteryear). I am writing — for myself, for others — every day, my daughter is nearly 5, which seems like such a milestone age. The last book I couldn’t put down was “Dark Matter” by Blake Crouch. Very fast-paced and engaging.

sara
sara
6 years ago

Wow, you’re notifications are gonna be blowing up! Isn’t it weird to think back when we didn’t have comment sections? Sometimes if I’m reading an actual magazine I’ll get through an article and think wistfully “Damn Id love to read some comments on this.” It’s kind of ridiculous.

Anyways, This is actually the only blog I read and I’ve stuck with it since before you had Riley. My online time is probably just spent on all the most common things, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. I try to read some news but not enough to make me one of those ANGRY news readers. I have 2 daughters (5 and 6). Im a dispatcher for technicians in the service industry and that’s about as fun as it sounds but I’ve done it for 12 years and I get insurance and a generous amount of vacation time every year so I’ve come to accept that this is what its like to be a grownup. I swear I love to read but for the life of me can not remember the last book that I read that I really loved, which is sad! I’m doing…. MEH. lol I’m 35, divorced last year, and living with my parents while I still fight about child support. Not exactly where I thought things were gonna be at 35, but still I know things could always be sooo much worse. :) Don’t ever quit blogging, we all love you!!

Anne
6 years ago

I spend my online time reading, but not a lot of commenting/posting/interacting, on Facebook and Twitter, sometimes Instagram. My son is five AND A HALF, has he is proud to now be able to announce. He reads chapter books and tells me all about Captain Underpants and it is so great. I’m still an accountant, still doing taxes, still trying to figure out if there even IS something else I’d like to do as a job, or if I’m just the sort of person who does a job that is tolerable and then goes home and has life and good stuff elsewhere. Books I’ve been struggling with lately, my attention span has left the building. But late in 2017 my two favorites were Bird Box and Dark Matter, and I think I might have gotten both of those recs from you on Facebook? Bird Box I did for sure, I’m not certain about Dark Matter.
Generally I’m not doing okay, no. But I have a couple hours of therapy a week and a new dose of meds and I’ve been trying to at least comment more on other peoples’ posts on FB or Twitter to interact at least digitally, if not in person. I haven’t sat at my computer and stared at a crisis chatline website in at least a few weeks, so that’s good? I’ll be fine. It’s just the way I get sometimes.

Amalah
6 years ago

Hello from a fellow ancient blogger who still blogs for some reason, never comments but still fondly remembers swapping pregnancy food cravings and other indignities back in the day.

I like Instagram a lot, occasionally remember to check Twitter or FB, and am thoroughly baffled by Snapchat. I read way, way too much political news and commentary online and as a result I’m now thoroughly medicated for depression and anxiety.

Noah, Ezra and Ike are 12, 9 and 6 now.

Still managing to make a part-time living writing my blog and stuff at AlphaMom, and then I supplement that with other freelance writing and marketing consulting. Doing a lot more non-writing technical content management work these days, which is a nice break for my brain.

The last book I read was Fire and Fury, which felt absolutely bonkers at the time but given the last few news cycles of the last couple weeks it seems downright tame.

I’m doing okay. Better than a few months ago, when things got pretty damn dark. Medication and therapy and taking better care of myself instead of just everybody around me. Getting into some political activism because jeeeeeeeeesus christ.

This was a nice idea, btw. So glad you still write.

Wendy
Wendy
6 years ago

Hi Linda! :) I do the same exact thing — read in a feed reader so I rarely leave comments … but this post prompted me to, obviously. ;)

I spend most of my time on Instagram these days, Facebook a bit less but still there too. My kids are now 27 and 23 (soon to be 28 and 24, yikes) and I also have a 2 year old grandson.

Two most recently enjoyed books – The Best of Us by Joyce Maynard (memoir, sad stuff but I tend to gravitate toward that sort of thing) and Britt-Marie was here by Fredrik Backman.

I’m so, so happy that you still write here — I read everything that you post! <3

Michelle
Michelle
6 years ago

Hi! I love that you keep this ol’ thing going. I read you via Feedly, which is where I’ve got a small list of blogs, comics, and DIY reno blogs I check. Other than that I’m at Tumblr, which is just a cursed site but very entertaining.
My boys are 2 and 4, which is about the age I always think of Riley and Dylan as being, how are they so grown?
I read for work–editor–so I haven’t read anything for pleasure is WAY too long and it makes me really sad and conflicted when I think about it much.
I’m doing OK. We had “restructuring” at work that has me a bit unsettled, but I”m OK. I’m glad you’re moistly OK too.

Elissa
6 years ago

So happy you’ve been writing more lately. Discovered your blog when I was pregnant with my oldest and have been a regular reader since then. I work as a lawyer and it’s usually fine, though I’ve recently been wondering if this is it for me career wise. Can’t really imagine myself doing anything else, but the thought of staying at my current job until retirement is pretty sobering.

I still read blogs, though I miss the personal blogging heyday of a decade ago. I like Instagram okay but generally stay away from other social media. My kids are 9 and 6, and I kind of live in fear of them having access to the internet someday (and I know that day is rapidly approaching!)

Recently loved “Pachinko”—best book I’ve read in a long time.

I’m doing okay. Given all my blessings I should probably feel better than I do. My brain is really good at finding things to worry about, however irrational or unlikely.

I continue to really enjoy your writing—thanks for the hours of reading pleasure you’ve given me over the years!

Kelly
Kelly
6 years ago

I’m here! I’m listening! I’ve been reading you for so long I’d miss our one-sided friendship if you weren’t writing ☺️

Kelly
Kelly
6 years ago

Online: Still way more FB time than I really ought to, so I am cutting that back some. It’s hard to do since I also use it so much for work.

Our daughter’s 6 now. Kindergarten and a whole new batch of concerns and new ways to feel in turns amazing, excited, terrified, and like I am failing her. Usually all in the same day.

I’m a birth and postpartum doula now. I left full-time corporate communications work when she was born and did a bit of that part-time from home, which gave me a good transition once I decided to move into doula work so I could buffer the training and start-up time. Now it’s exclusively doula work and I love it more than I ever thought I could love a job. Being at births is amazing and the postpartum work supporting families with newborns at home is so rewarding, too. And I spend a lot of days snuggling little babies, which is pretty awesome. I also love that this has given me way more time with my kid, which rocks. Most days I can do bus stop dropoff and pickup and that’s been helpful for her.

It’s been too long since I read an amazing book I couldn’t put down. Exit West was probably the last that really drew me in that way. I just finished Artemis, which definitely was a page turner, but his characters were a bit thin.

I am doing about as okay as I ever have. At 45, I can say I feel like I am generally happy. Doesn’t mean I don’t have days that feel horrible or anxious, but I am happy with where my life is right now and I’ll take it. I don’t think younger me could have pictured this.

Adrien
6 years ago

Hi Linda! I’ve been reading your blog since…forever. 2003? Something like that. Diaryland days.

I mostly spend my time on IG and more time than I’d like on Facebook which I can’t seem to quit.( I mean, my mom is on there. It’s pretty ruined.) I dabble in Reddit but only on subs that are relevant to my interests and not full of misogyny.

I don’t have kids but my cats are 6 months (eep!) and 4 years old. They’re both pretty much the best cats ever aside from being jobless freeloaders.

My job is still my job after 14 years. I do grants stuff at a Hogwarts-y university. Amazed to have a job at all considering I went to art school.

I haven’t read anything super compelling lately but I’m always reading. Currently reading Young Jane Young. It’s fine.

And yeah. I’m doing okay. It was touch-and-go there for a while but right now I’m good. I hope you are too! I am glad you’re still writing.

el-e-e
6 years ago

Thanks for asking! And I wish I had time to read everyone’s comments TODAY, because today seems like a good day to get sucked into Internet goodness.

Online time? Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and The Old Reader for mah blogs.
Kids are (10 and 13.9).

Job? Marketing assistant/content mgr for a small, but global company. It’s gotten better. Pays the bills, located close to the kids’ school, so it’s a win.

Last book you could not put down? The Mapmaker’s Daughter by Laurel Corona. (Historical Fiction about the Spanish Inquisition and SO rich with detail and character.)

Am I doing okay? Yes in the grand scheme. Today, however, was a day when the voice in my head was being particularly mean about the way I handle the morning get-kids-to-school rush. Sigh.

Abby
Abby
6 years ago

Hello! I think I have commented a few times on your blog, but mostly a long time reader and lurker.

I mostly spend my time on FB, Instagram, Feedly, and in the past few months YouTube, where I watch a weird amalgamation of British vloggers, film critique essays, and food channels.

I am currently 7 and half months pregnant with my first kid, which means how I am doing tends to change multiple times a day and feel like a random response to hormones. But overall, I am actually really good.

As for work, I am an academic librarian, which I really like. It took me a long time to find work in my field, so I am grateful that I get to be a librarian at all, even if an underpaid one at that.

I started off the year by reading a bunch of books, a good number of which were young adult fantasy and the rest were compelling non-fiction books about body image and racism. But since then I haven’t read anything. My favorite of that bunch was Uprooted by Naomi Novak, traditional fantasy, but with a strong Eastern European influence.

Kelly
Kelly
6 years ago

Hi Linda! Online: Reading Twitter, Facebook, but not necessarily enjoying FB. I can’t seem to give it up entirely though.

Kids: I have three boys, ages 12, 10, and 5. Your boys remind me so much of my older two. They even have similar looks.

Job: Stay-at-home mom. All the kids are in school Life is good.

Reading: I just finished reading A Gentleman in Moscow and it was so enjoyable. I’ve read a lot of books lately that stress me out a little bit and this one didn’t. It was just pleasant.

How am I doing? Life is good. Most of the time ;)

Just have to tell you that your writing is some of my favorite. You really are talented.

Nikki
6 years ago

Heyhey! I’ve also been a follower since the Dland days. I’ve always enjoyed your writing. It translates so clearly to me.
Facebook, blogs, and news streams catch my attention most days, with the occasional dabble into online gaming (Black Desert, etc). My 3 sons are all grown (24 yesterday!, almost 22 and almost 21) and I find myself with empty nest syndrome. I’m kind of lost, frankly, but trying to find my way. I changed jobs early this year and am finding my footing there-glad just to have a job, I guess. My Kindle is packed and I’m currently on a book called Local Girls by Alice Hoffman. She’s an author I enjoy for her quirky edge.
Thank you for letting us in, allowing us to glimpse your life and for your warm and real voice in this cyber world.

anon
anon
6 years ago

Hey! I’ve read you since Riley was a newborn. We have similarly-aged boys (yours are just a few months older than mine) and it’s been so fun watching your kids grow up “with” mine.

My online time is spent here, news sites (hometown where I no longer live, and national), favorite food blogs, swistle, and when I need a laugh, itjustgetsstranger.

I’ve not spent a lot of reading time on me recently…mostly scripture study, etc. for church, but I read with my boys and we are loving the Narnia books right now. I LOVED your book lists for kids you did forever ago and I wrote down several that we’ve read or are planning to read. I need to find that post and check out the comments too!

Things are good. So busy, but so good.

I love your posts and look forward to every little thing you write!

Lizzie
Lizzie
6 years ago

Hi! Are you still reading these?

I live in the UK and have two girls aged 5 and 7, but I’ve been reading you since Riley was little, so way before I was a mother myself. Such a big fan of you and your writing. You’ve made so many little impacts on my life over the years.

I’m a part time finance manager which I mostly love. And a part time stay at home mother which I also mostly love. I hang out on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (even though I’m pretty sure it’s evil – but it’s where my friends are!)

Kate
Kate
6 years ago

Hi there. I’ve been reading since pre-Dylan. I think your writing is the best to come out of the so-called Mommy blog era, and equally enjoy your funny, every day posts and your more insightful, heartfelt posts.

My kids are 14, 8, 6 and 4, all boys, and I can tell you that teenagers are unequivocally assholes. I spend most of my webtime on cat Instagram feeds. No shame in my game. I am both mostly and moistly doing well!

Haley
Haley
6 years ago

Hello!

It is so interesting to see who else is out there and enjoying reading your words too.
I have been reading since diaryland I think, definitely since before you had Riley.
I have a 7yr old daughter who is challenging me in all the usual ways and I love her like crazy.
I work in a University in Canada managing a lab and since they pay for staff tuition – I am also a part time student only 1 credit away from her degree after 13 long years.
My favourite books lately have been the memoirs of Catherine Gildiner. So so good.
Keep writing! I look forward to it.

Carol
Carol
6 years ago

I enjoy reading your blog. It’s one of 3 that I read regularly. I use Facebook. I have Instagram but haven’t looked at it in ages. I have/had 3 grown children. One died in 2014 so my life has been radically altered since then. I’m doing ok right now though. I have 6 grandchildren under 10 years old that live nearby. I’m in Maui right now. Thanks to you I was able to explain the Escape Room to my husband after we saw the sign! I’m a hospice RN. Thanks for volunteering; it is most helpful for the families. My current favorite books to read are anything by Alice Hoffman (love a little magic) or Elin Hilderbrand.

L
L
6 years ago

Hello!

I spent a lot of time on Twitter and instagram. I read way fewer blogs since Google Reader went belly-up.

My daughter is 4.

I can’t remember the last book I read that I couldn’t put down…maybe The Magicians.

I help my rich boss get richer, sometimes I like it. Sometimes I hate it so much I can’t breathe.

Tell me, are you doing okay? MOISTLY yes…sometimes no.

I really like your blog. I’ve been reading for ages (I think I found you and Swistle around the same time) and I always enjoy hearing what you have to say.

Sara
Sara
6 years ago

These days I check a few fave blogs and only do IG on my phone. FB/Twitter was just stressing me out.

Kids are 7 & 10 and I think every age has been my favorite, but these my be my forreal favorite favorite.

I’m almost done with my master’s degree –
I graduate in May and then I need to find a job to justify the debt I just took on.
It’s terrifying and exhilarating.

Last book I raced through was An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.

I’d say I’m okay about 65% of the time. And I’m working on strategies for that other 35%.

Shelagh
6 years ago

Hi!

I spend a lot of time on Instagram. I am avoiding my blog like the plague right now, but that will change as soon as I get myself into a better housing situation, which will happen soon. Then I can focus and write and look at my photos and think.

I still sometimes search for that great post where you asked everyone for jokes a million years ago. I cried with helpless laughter for days over that one. I read blogs and books and the NYT, but nothing mind-bending right now. Right now I’m focusing on keeping it all together to move.

No kids, but 2 dogs, 8 & 10. Pretty much kids.

I’m a baker. I love love love my job. I never thought I would love a job, but after quitting my whole life and traveling for a year, my head was in the right place to follow my heart to this little place.

I’m okay 50% of the time right now, but normally it’s more like 90% (see: impending move).

Thanks for asking :)

Sarah
Sarah
6 years ago

I love this idea. And I love your blog, and have loved it for…at least ten years, maybe more? Anyway.

I read Twitter a LOT. I try to follow the people whose writing I most enjoy and whose viewpoints I trust, so I read a lot of blogs and articles and news articles (mostly NYT) but Twitter is the vehicle that drives me to most of my favorite content.

My little boy just turned two and he is a delight. He has his moments, and I’m sure they’ll increase as two becomes three, but he’s funny, cute, creative, curious, and starting to talk, and I can’t wait to hear what goes on in his head.

I have a couple jobs right now and I like them a lot. One is as an ACT/SAT prep instructor and curriculum developer, which both challenges my creativity (how can you make grammar…not fun, but less soporific??) and raises my awareness of the inequality that these tests perpetuate (you really have to be trained to the test – high school learning on its own does not prepare you – so how can students without the resources to take a class get the kinds of scores they need to succeed?). I’m trying to figure out how I can maybe encourage my partner/boss to offer some LOW-cost/free classes to the community as a response to this reality. My other job is as the worship leader for a church that is starting in three weeks, and it’s pretty much my dream job, so that’s fun.

Am I okay? I don’t know. At the risk of being even more wordy, I’ll just say yes, considering. Considering 1) I have an anxiety disorder, but it’s somewhat under control, and 2) I’ve had unexplained chronic pain for two months and who knows what the doctors will find when I FINALLY get in to see a specialist in three weeks – sorry, yes, it’s chronic, good luck, OR hey guess what, you need surgery tomorrow! OR you’re crazy because there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. But I’m holding it together, thanks to my very supportive family and friends.

I may have to replicate this exercise on Facebook – I think it would be so good to get people talking genuinely about how they are. Thanks for your writing over the years and just being who you are. Sorry for fangirling 😬

Stephanie M
Stephanie M
6 years ago

Facebook
17 & 19
Commercial loan underwriting
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (YA, very pretty)
I’m ok. Better than I’ve been for a while

Sarah
Sarah
6 years ago

Eek! I forgot books! I’m currently obsessed with the Inspector Gamache/Three Pines mysteries by Louise Penny. They’re mostly set in a charming village in Canada but they’re deeper than a lot of “cozy” mysteries – really getting into human motivations and how a small slight thirty years earlier can fester and lead to murder. They’re great standalone novels but the running narrative threads are brilliant. HIGHLY recommended!

Sarah
Sarah
6 years ago

Have been reading your blog for years, and am so happy you’re still posting.

Online time for me is split largely between Feedly & Instagram, and then I use Pinterest to remember things I want to find later (like recipes).

I have 3 kids (8, 6, 3), all girls.

I manage a user research team for a software company. I love user research. Some days I love the management aspect, some days less so. Trying to decide what long term looks like.

I could not put A Man Called Ove down, and I share a previous commenters love for Louise Penny books.

Sandy
6 years ago

Hi. I don’t think I’ve ever commented on your blog before. I still consider myself a new reader since I found your site in 2015. I used to be a voracious reader of blogs, but now I read, like, two. I spend all day behind a desk (I’m a lawyer and I oscillate between loving and hating my job), so have tried to move the rest of my life offline. The only exception is Instragram, which is my main creative outlet these days. I have one kid, who is almost five and shares a name with one of your kids, except she is a girl. I like to spend my non-working time with her, making art, reading, and adventuring around our city. I’m two years sober in AA. Your writing sort of indirectly put me on the path to recovery. I probably would have found my way here anyway, but I stumbled into your blog at the exact same time that I was spiraling and you shared a link to an article from Hip Sobriety that shifted me onto an entirely new path. So, thanks.

yasmara
yasmara
6 years ago

I have been a reader since…forever. My boys are almost-13 & 11. I spend a lot of time on FB, but on a private group. Otherwise, too much of it depresses me. I read blogs via Feedly. I have a desk job that I really like & I just realized I’ve been there 17 years this week & I’M OLD (same company, various positions). The best book I read recently was Lab Girl. I got it from the library & then promptly bought it in hardback. Life is good, but we moved a year & a half ago & I still need local friends. My younger son is quitting the sport he spends a lot of time in & that I’ve met some other moms because of & I’m wondering if our friendships will survive (doubtful).

sarawr
sarawr
6 years ago

I still visit my favorite blogs on their actual sites like it’s 1997 and I WILL NEVER STOP. (Hi I’m Sara now you know how I got here.) Aside from you, I visit Amalah and Mimi Smartypants regularly, Dooce occasionally just because she was the first blogger I ever followed. I check Instagram a few times a day although I never post; I participate in exactly one (1) Reddit community. I read Buzzfeed a lot even though it makes me feel old like 75% of the time. I read an embarrassing number of TV reviews and recaps because I watch an even more embarrassing amount of TV. I more or less live on Facebook.

My son is going to be 13 next month (jesus god WHY, why did I ever FEED him, what is this NONSENSE) and he was… I think… a fetus when I started reading your blog. An actual fetus. I have three jobs: I’m a full-time administrative assistant at a university, handling six departments; I’m a part-time recruitment and data-management specialist for a lice-removal company; and, even part-er time, I write and record daily promos as well as assisting with production and management of fundraisers for our local NPR station. If you want to know my profession, it is Tired Person. I read a lot… no, really, a LOT… but the last one that really gripped me was Stephen King’s new one, Sleeping Beauties. Before that it was Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman, which I cannot rave hard enough about.

I love that there are still bloggers out here like you, writing real stuff, caring about the people who read said stuff. I don’t mean “building a community” because that’s super Instagram-hashtag-sponsored and gross, but… I mean something that’s the genuine version of that. Thank you for like 14 years of good stuff.

Bridget
6 years ago

We recently moved from a small town we never liked to the city where I grew up and where my parents and sister’s family lives. We’re loving living here! But, we’re in a not-so-great rental house while we look for somewhere to buy, and knowing we’re moving soon makes us feel unsettled all the time. Our 2-year-old daughter is having some trouble settling in, but she gets ridiculously happy every time she gets to see her cousins, which is obviously much more often.

We were able to move because we both work for a company that allows us to work from home, providing technical advice related to nuclear waste disposal. It’s kind of boring, but it pays well. It gives me way too much leeway to waste time on the internet, which, these days means Facebook and a political message board. I also just found the blog Wait But Why, and I’ve been enjoying randomly clicking around their archives.

Things are generally going very well, but, of course, there are still struggles. I want more time and patience with my kid. I want another kid, but that’s difficult. I want to enjoy and be better at my job.

(This answer got surprisingly personal for a brief set of questions!)

Christine B
6 years ago

Hi Linda….I still love reading your blog, I think it’s been ten years? Wow. I read by subscription via email. I’m on Facebook and Instagram (@A_D_craft_D) mostly these days, and Pinterest, too. No Twitter. Not my favorite. I’m trying to find a way to be informed, but not lose my mind with the horrifying state of things in this country.

My kids are 19, 12, and 10, I’m married to an absolute treasure of a man, and I am working full time as a disability analyst for Social Security. I thought I was going to really like it, but two years into it, I don’t. Although I do get to read people’s medical records and there are some interesting stories out there in the world. What I really want is to start a sewing pattern company and teach sewing, but I can’t figure out how to get started.

I ride horses (dressage, no jumping) and we now own a Clydesdale, and a small pony, four dogs and three cats, so I don’t have a lot of time for reading, but I’m obsessed with Regency-era time travel romance (I know, what a specific genre). I wish we lived on a farm, but no, it’s suburbia. The horses don’t live at our house.

Thank you for your writing, for being honest, and for sharing your life. In a non-stalkerish way, I’ve loved knowing what was up with you, sharing your adventures, and sending you anonymous positive vibes when things are not going so well. You’re a great writer.

Phoebe
Phoebe
6 years ago

I’m old so I’m still using Facebook (mostly via private groups and to buy crap for my kids on buy/sell/trade sites) and I poke around Instagram. I visit reddit and read some blogs on Feedly but still like to use my bookmarks to visit other blogs I read (see- old). I’ve got two kids (4 yo and 7 mo) and my older one was a very suspicious baby that always reminded me of Riley. My work stuff is boring, but has all the good benefits and decent hours plus is vaguely benefits humanity (but also our shareholders, me included). I listened to my last two books: Yes Please- Amy Pohler and The Nightingale- Kristin Hannah. Both had me sitting in my driveway or outside my kids preschool listening (for different reasons). All in all I’m doing well, and try to remember daily how #blessed I am. But I still feel bitchy and annoyed at all the mundane things that white, middle-class, non-baby boomers do (housing prices, global warming, 45, etc).

I’ve been reading you since right around when Riley was born, but went though most of your archives during particularly dull or difficult days. Thank you for writing and for sharing it with us!

Lisa S
6 years ago

Hello! I’ve known you both from when you were at your software company in Seattle & I was at the magazine that reviewed your employer’s products and from an online forum, so that’s approximately a billion years. And have happily read you since.

I spend most of my online time managing my Feedly right now, with its 200 feeds, but will cop to checking NYMag’s The Cut multiple times a day, and reading Buzzfeed to unwind at night.

My daughter is seven now, which is both unreal and perfectly normal. I see photos and video clips of her as a baby and that entire period feels like it happened to another person.

I’m writing and editing and podcasting and wondering … can I do this for another 25 years? What’s next?

And for books I could not put down … oh, good one. These days, I’m reading books that I can put down, lots of nonfiction essays, because I so rarely get both time and brain to line up for an immersive experience. I did really enjoy an unauthorized biography of Stevie Nicks recently, because I love a good trashy read about or by people with unimaginable amounts of permissiveness and money.

I’m doing … okay to good, I guess? I’m not as healthy as I’d like to be. In my ideal world, I’d be churning laps for like an hour a day, every day, at the pool, but the hustle between full and part-time work, plus volunteer work, plus running the house, plus having a social life, plus family life … it’s hard. I feel like I spend a lot of time saying yes to everything else and no to myself.

Eve
Eve
6 years ago

Hello Linda!

I’m so happy you’re still updating this website. I found your blog when my now 9-year-old daughter (almost 10) was just a baby, and reading what you wrote kept me sane. I’ve kept up with you all these years, and almost every time I read your writing, I think “Yes! I feel the same way!”

I also have twin girls who are 6. I stayed at home with all my kids and now that they’re in school, I’ve been trying to earn money and figure out what I want to do but it’s tricky. So I do some freelance editing which I mostly like. I also started substitute teaching, which is an adventure in itself. I’ve always volunteered a lot in the kids’ school and saw subs and figured, Hmmm, I bet I could do that, even though I don’t have a teaching background. Still figuring out if I like it. I do like being in the schools and getting a firsthand view of what goes on. It’s really interesting in a million ways but I also don’t really feel qualified to be doing it…

The most recent book I read was Roughneck Grace by a local Wisconsin author. Highly recommend it! Someone that I feel a kinship with though I’ve never met him.

Thank you for keeping up your writing! You really are great at it. Your ability to write in a way that makes me feel like we’re having a conversation is truly a great talent. Please know that you have a person living across the country in Wisconsin who sends you positive vibes quite often.

Jill H
Jill H
6 years ago

Hi-
I have been reading your blog since…..?? I can’t remember, but I love it when a new post pops up :) You are such a gifted writer!

I check FB and Twitter daily, Instagram occasionally and I hate SnapChat with every fiber of my being.

My kids are almost 17 and 14. Life with teens is quite an adventure-driving! dating! college classes!

I am a teacher. After 20+ years of teaching elementary kiddos, I was moved to the high school this year. It has been…..different. I like it in some ways, but being with teenagers all day (work AND home) is draining.

I am OK. Had a really, really rough end to 2017, but things are looking up. I am thankful for the crap though because my husband and I are much closer now. (And after almost 20 years of marriage, that is pretty cool.)

Please keep writing here; I really enjoy reading your posts.

Kelly
Kelly
6 years ago

Hi! I’ve been reading from afar for a long time. I love love love your writing style and brutal honesty.

I’m mostly an Instagram fiend, occasional Snapchat checker and a reluctant Facebook participant.

My kids are 5 and 3, both boys, both complete maniacs. We also have a puppy. There is urine all over my house.

I’m a nurse in the operating room of a large cancer hospital. My job is both ridiculously fulfilling and heartbreaking. It helps to put things into perspective on a daily basis, and I can’t imagine doing anything else.

I just finished The Wife Between Us and had to put down a couple times to yell, “What?! Really? No. Seriously?”

I’m mostly really good. Sometimes I fall in that parenting black hole where it feels like I don’t really have my own time or identity, but I’m working on that. My husband is pretty awesome, my kids are frustratingly amazing and the shitty parts will soon pass, I’m sure. I mean, they will, right?