413,631 Words

A blog that I follow was hacked this week ...

The site is still not up. Thankfully I have been able to follow her on Twitter and it looks like they are working on it. They may be able to save it.

What resonates in my mind after this random, thoughtless occurrence? Her words "Three years ... gone ... that's a lot of words ..."

I started blogging on December 29, 2007. I had printed and saved my blog posts up until September 14, 2009. After being reminded of just how vulnerable anyone or anything is on the Internet, I went back to my archives and started saving my posts to a Word file.

I am not officially up to date yet. I have saved up until March 21, 2111. I'm almost there.

Up to that point in time, I have archived 1291 pages. 413,631 words. And I'm not finished yet ...

It has been an interesting journey as I revisit my thoughts from almost two years ago. I have reread very few of these posts in their entirety, but the titles and a quick scan of the first or last sentences have brought back so many memories.

The thought of losing these words forever? It is next to impossible to comprehend. I write a lot of inane babble. But sometimes? Sometimes ... I stop and make myself think.

I am so grateful that I started journaling my journey through life. Documenting the thoughts and feelings as I stroll through my days. It isn't so much a record of what I've done with my days ... but these words can take me back to a moment in time. The feelings. The essence of living through life's highs and lows and everything in between.

I looked back through my archives and relived the moments before, during and after My Great Dance Adventure. Family ... friends ... learning ... earning ... parenting ... dancing ... It's all here.

My thoughts often drift to thinking of 'what I will leave behind' after I breathe my last breath. I look at my children and I know that they are my greatest legacy. I look at my family and know that I am a part of them as much as they are a part of me. I look at my friendships and I know that I carry within me, a piece of each of these friends ... and I believe it is a two way street. No one or nothing can 'hack' this. This is real. It is tangible. This is my life.

But my words? My words are something that I can leave to my children ... my grandchildren ... and anyone who may choose to read them. My words are a gift to myself. I heal, I grow, I learn. I soar with the eagles. I swim with the fishes. Sometimes I simply wander aimlessly through my days. This spot, these words ... they are life-as-I-know-it. They are life-as-I-live-it. They are me.

To my Internet Friend ... it is my fervent hope and desire that you can retrieve your blog from where ever it may be. You are so very, very right. Three years is a lot of words. Words worth reading. Thoughts worth remembering. Mountains you've climbed ... the hills and the valleys. Your words are a gift to the Internet community that reads them. Most of all? They are a gift to yourself. In the mean time, hold on tight to all that is tangible. The Internet community and family within it. Your children ... your life ... you. No one can hack that!