Z?

Z. Zero. Zenith. Zen. Interesting, three words with related concepts.

Zero: denoting the absence of magnitude or quantity. A state of total absence or neutrality.

Zenith: a culminating point, the highest point reached or reachable.

Zen: neither the absence nor the culmination of achievement. Zen is transcendent of measure and evaluation.

Here, at the end of the A to Z Blog Challenge, I have found a sort of Zen. I am no longer at the beginning, but I am not at the end, either. I have not reached the heights of the blogosphere, nor have I fallen into the pit of disdain.

I am, actually, in a pleasant place where I have followers, friends and visitors stopping by frequently enough to satisfy my ego (and yes, we all have one), but not so frequently as to be difficult to keep up with. I'm still able to personally address each comment and answer emails or tweets from my faithful few, without being so overwhelmed that I run from all social media with my hands in the air. It's a pleasant place to be.

The A to Z has been all that it's name implies: a challenge. I was truly surprised by the difficulty of blogging every day, to a specific subject, even though the only guidelines are the alphabet. I under appreciated the time and commitment it would take to prepare and post each and every day. And I wanted each post to matter. To amuse, enlighten, enrich and enable any and all who stopped by to read it. I wanted you to know the thought that went into each post. I fear, unfortunately, there were a few days when I let you down, but I also believe, overall you were pleased with what you found.

My little blog went from three dedicated followers to eighteen. From a little under two-hundred hits to well over a thousand. From a few desultory, self-indulgent posts to over thirty (hopefully) well written anecdotes.


I have found friends and followers around the globe, in places I never expected: South Africa, Spain, Ireland and Malaysia for a few.

 And the posts with the most hits and comments? See for yourself:
Posts

Entry	Pageviews
Whiskey... (For Steve - can we do Norfolk again?) Apr 25, 2013,	45
Quality in Writing Apr 19, 2013,	31
Unpublished does not mean Unread Apr 23, 2013,	26
Nihilism and the Boston Marathon...My A to Z post ... Apr 15, 2013,	23
Surprising success and an early "S" post Apr 21, 2013,	22

So, yes; it's been a Zen like experience. One I hope to repeat and grow better at. I hope you'll stick around for the ride. I really do. Because I like hearing from you, I like meeting you, and I really, really like writing for you.

Warmly, 

Barbara and "The Man Behind the Curtain"
(No, I am not married to Mike Ditka or any of his relations!)