This is our year of renewed simplicity. Although I am not big into New Year’s resolutions, a series of realizations surfaced over the latter half of 2019. January felt like a proper time to move forward by leaving some of the past behind.

Samwise basking in the afternoon’s sun is a fine image to go along with this post. It is the essence of simplify…of a basic and blessed life.

We are just back from a six-mile woodland walk, and while Emily gnaws away on her chew, Samwise is off to another world. Seeing him like this relaxes me, just as seeing Max like this twenty years ago relaxed me then, and reminds me of what is important to my life.

Part of the attempt to slow things down is this blog.

Before there was a Facebook page, I wrote a blog. It was the genesis of my newspaper columns here in New Hampshire and, ultimately, Following Atticus.

Through the past nine years, as social media has taken up more of my time, I’ve been blogging less. Recently, I realized my last post on the old blog was more than a year ago. That saddened me.

Facebook works for some folks. However, I t’s always been an uneasy dance for me. Before the Following Atticus page was born, I deleted my personal FB page at least twice. Today, the only reason I have an active personal FB page is so that I can have a business page.

A blog is more my style. It offers me an opportunity to stretch out and convey thoughts and not have to tend to the flood of comments. I can simply write.

The purpose of social media was for me to offer up more of my writing to readers, but I came to see that no matter how much a person shares on Facebook page like ours, a portion of the readership always wants more. And not so much much more writing, but more of the writer. More of the person.

While some photos and shorter posts will continue to appear on our FB page, this is where my online writing belongs. Purposefully, there is no room for comments. Call it self-preservation on my part. Setting boundaries that work for me.

Facebook grew to become the only complicated aspect of a life I am always striving to keep simple. It grew into a place of anxiety for me. My friends would tell you that it also became pretty much the only thing that ever angered me.

After much thought, and too much handwringing, this blog was born to simplify my life.

Since it’s launch earlier this week, I have been happier. My writing has been more productive. I have been more peaceful. It feels like we are back to where we belong.

In the posts to follow, you will see more long form writing. Call it mini-chapters, if you will, of adventures and simplicities. In our life, they go hand-in-hand.

More than 2,500 of you have subscribed so far, and I wanted to send out a post to test the mailing system before too much time passed.

Another plus with this form of media is that Facebook will no longer determine which of my posts you will see. Since you have signed up to receive emails, they’ll come directly to your mailbox. I promise not to overdue it, and the email list will never be made available to anyone else.

Thank you for being here.

This is a place for readers, and this writer is grateful to have you on board.