Back in October 2019 I wrote this….

I was very surprised when I opened up my blog page and discovered that I hadn’t posted anything for close to three years. This is a what happens when life gets in the way…and that is exactly what I said in a 30 December 2016 post, Back to Blogging, when I realized that I hadn’t written anything for two years…I did get back to blogging with a few new entries, the last being in January 2017, then nothing! Why?

A lot of reasons, I think. I always do have ideas bubbling around in my brain, and I usually find it easier to write about them than talk about them, but it always seemed as if there was something else to take up my time. In 2017, we decided to sell our house and move…somewhere…that somewhere turned out to be Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but I am getting ahead of myself…

Well, after I wrote this life, once again, did get in the way. Aside from all those things that we do from day to day, I also did a lot of photography, for myself, and to support some non-profits, updated my website (it needs another refresh!) and set up a website for one of the non-profits. So shooting, processing, and web-mastering took up a lot of my time. In December we took a trip to South America, South Georgia Island and Antarctica (my second visit!)…meaning more photos and more more processing. This was followed by a trip to Hawaii in early March…then the pandemic. So, I can make a lot of excuses, but I think the problem was just inertia, let’s face it, it is easier to spend too much time blowing off steam on Facebook rather than doing thoughtful writing.

Back in late 2019, my intention had been to write about moving, adapting to a new place, and my impressions of my new home. These are still subjects that I want to write about, perhaps even more now that I have fallen into the rhythm of life in Portsmouth.

In moving from Montgomery County, Maryland to Portsmouth, New Hampshire I encountered an unexpected culture shock. Just for perspective, if you count my four years of college, I lived in Maryland for just about 47 years, the bulk of my life. It had become familiar and comfortable, it had become home. As of 2019, Montgomery County had a population of just under 1.1 million people while the entire state of New Hampshire had a population of only 1.36 million. The population of Portsmouth in 2019 was just under 22,000.

I have never lived in such a small community before. Life here is different. Not necessarily better or worse, but different. Now, when I go out for a walk and do not run into someone I know, it is the exception…and I am a relatively newbie here. I have spoken before the city council several times on issues important to my community and I was recently one of the leading voices in convincing the city council to not delay promised improvements to the main street in front of my home. Previously I avoided getting involved in community matters, but here, it is easy, and it feels very personal.

One of the biggest changes I noticed in myself is that I didn’t even notice when I stopped to referring to Maryland as “home.”

So, this has been a new beginning, and I have a lot to say. Hopefully I won’t slack off again. Meanwhile, before my next bog post, please explore my older blog posts, and perhaps check out the photography on my website.