Every year, I like to pick out my favorite posts from the past 12 months. I would complain about this, but the embarrassing truth is I really enjoy doing it.
I’ve now been writing this blog for five years and for some reason, I still love doing it. Maybe it’s because, as you age, you become concerned about what you’ll leave behind. I’ll mostly leave my stories, which are recounted here week after week.
There’s so much I wish I’d understood about my own parents, but didn’t ask when they were still alive. My kids will have the opposite problem — the mother who kept talking or writing and recorded much of it, a/k/a the mother who won’t shut up. Not that the internet is immortality or anything, but it will have to do.
So, anyway, from the past year:
1) The Tree Fell in the Forest, But Only One of Us Heard It — This one is about a marital spat that only one of us knew we were having. It’s my version of the story. That means it’s true;
2) Me and Susan G. — Like other breast cancer survivors, I used to march in Komen’s Race for the Cure;
3) Editing Your Life — So, tell me, how would you punctuate the events in your life?;
4) Yes, There’s Really a Town Called Notrees — When the terrain gets flat and desolate, it means my husband and I are headed back to where we came from. You call it ugly, we call it home;
5) Notes on Being the Kind of Woman Nobody Ever Wrote a Rock’n’Roll Song For — Maybe the older you get, the lower you set your sights. Isn’t the goal of not being a jerk sufficient?;
6) – 7) The Story of a Neighborhood, Part One and Part Two — These two segments were written 15 years apart. They’re about the aging of a neighborhood, friendship, and loss;
8) Look Who’s Getting Married — My incredible sister walks down the aisle;
9) I Am Sick, So Just Shut Up — You know what? People should stop ganging up on you when you’re sick — or is it just me who has the bossiest friends on earth?
10) Sir Winston Churchill, Meet Siri — I don’t want to hear one more damned word about how Siri’s so great;
11) I Have Seen the Men and They Are Desperate — Visit a gourmet grocery store the night before Valentine’s Day and you will see panic in the aisles;
12) Send Me No Damned Carnations — Why don’t they write instruction manuals for emergencies?
(Copyright 2013 by Ruth Pennebaker)
I remember almost all of these and will go reread the ones I don’t!
Most of these were my favorites of yours, too. Great picks!
All awesome posts Ruth! I read ’em when you wrote ’em. Here’s my best (AND WORST) of 2012:
http://jennifermargulis.net/blog/2012/12/the-best-and-worst-of-2012/
I’ve enjoyed reading your posts this year!
Every good wish for the New Year.
Best, Irene
I think all your posts are winners, but I’ll definitely check out the ones listed that I haven’t read before.
Ah, you picked out one of my favorites–#10. Apparently the updated Siri will be *smarter.* I’m sure she’ll still like to bicker with me.
It’s fascinating to think how our children will be contemplate us through our blog posts, as you point out, once we are no longer here. (Psst! I think you can get an even wider audience for your favorites in a collection at some point, ie. book-form. )
Only 11? Every post is a favorite of mine. Thanks for sharing your stories so wonderfully, Ruth – and a very happy new year to you.
Happy New Year! I’ve read most of your posts and I’ve enjoyed them all. But it’s a great idea to have this kind of year-end wrap up.
I liked #1 as well, I think that was my favorite.
I thought all of these were great. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite. I think maybe the one I read most recently would be my choice. I still get a kick thinking about you and the eye glasses dilemma. Maybe that was longer than a year ago.
I think you have extremely lucky children and you are extremely lucky to have such a good sister.