Just four years

Just Frances is four years old. Wow! Can you believe that I’ve been spewing this utter nonsense for that long? And if you thought I might be nearing the end of rubbish things to talk about, you’re wrong. (No apologies. If you don’t like it, you can just stop reading!)

This site began as a way for me to share my mundane thoughts when I was feeling extremely isolated in the weeks and months after my husband died. It wasn’t meant as a place of grief, as I had a separate outlet for that. However, over time my grief (and other emotions) found its way here. I mean, all of those emotions are part of me, Just Frances, so they kind of belonged here in the first instance!

Over the years, I’ve shared my highs and my lows; my excitement and my sorrows; my awful poetry and my tasty recipes. It has been, as originally promised, a random flow of thoughts and ideas with content roaming all over the place.

But some days, I wonder why I bother writing a blog. I wonder if anyone actually cares about what I have to say, and I wonder if anyone actually would be bothered if I stopped writing. I mean, there are millions of bloggers out there talking about life, sharing recipes and craft projects, and rambling on about a load of rubbish that no one really cares about. So why do I feel the need to add to that noise? I mean, what makes me so special that I feel I need to re-say what others have already said?

I suppose that the truth is I’m not so special that my words are important enough to be re-said. But saying them helps me – especially when I am feeling isolated with no real people to talk to. It also helps me to process my thoughts when I’m struggling with the loneliness and grief of widowhood that (still!) envelopes me. But, importantly, it is a wonderful way for me to share my happy moments and photos of my travels with my family and friends around the world who worry about me and like to check in to make sure I’m not letting that loneliness and grief take up too much of my time!

Of course, there’s also the important, helpful stuff that I share. Specifically, stuff related to my medical conditions (Polycystic Kidney Disease and Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura) and learning to live with widowhood which seems to be of great help to others. In fact, I often get private messages thanking me for sharing my stories and I have to say that there is something very motivational about knowing my words help others!

So, four years later and I’m still here! (That’s a good thing, I think!) And I will be here for the foreseeable future.

And what can you expect to see from me in between now and my next blog anniversary? (Sorry, I refuse to accept “blogiversary” as a word!) Well, you can expect pretty much the same as I’ve written before: A little bit of everything!

Oh! And I can’t let a post like this go without some stats. So, here goes:

• Most searched-for terms: just frances (and variations); pkd belly; living with itp; widows dating; and chinese jacks
• Most visited pages (other than home page): My PKD belly [?]; ITP Awareness Month: Living and coping; Amputated at the heart; Poor man’s casserole; and Chinese jacks
• Most commented on stories: Coming home; My PKD belly [?]; ITP Awareness Month: Living and coping; and Set in stone
• Total stories: 1,003

And there you have it: Four years of mundane, boring, and pointless posts on Just Frances.

[Screen shot image courtesy of Wayback Machine from 26 September 2010.]