I'm grateful for your interest in, and attention to, my blog.

I'm composing this message today because I regret how long it's taken me to post again to my website and especially to my blog.

I'm breaking out of my normal structure for my blog entries today in part because of the current circumstances and in part because I enjoy the idea of doing something different.

Prior to composing this text, my most recent blog entry to appear was for the date of October 26, 2007. I believe I had posted blog entries for every day of the year through and including that date. During the course of the year, it had been my hope to post something for every day of this year. I hadn't necessarily expected to compose or post such blog entries within, say, twenty-four hours of the date to which the post referred, and during multiple intervals during the course of the year, as long as a week or perhaps slightly more sometimes passed before I got caught up. Even so, through and including that date, I did keep on track by eventually including something for each day.

On most days this year, my blogs included still, photographic images, followed by an indication of what I did on that day and sometimes also including thoughts that had occurred to me during that day and references to other posts that I had added to my website.

In this entry, in addition to providing an explanation for why things have remained so quiet for so long on my blog page, I also wanted to provide something of an update and indicate what my plans are for reconstructing the missing, intervening material.

Following October 26, I felt overwhelmed by the number of things going on in my life. My need for ease wasn't getting met as fully as I would like.

One major event, which has become an annual event for me, was my November participation in NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. In this text, you'll find links to more information about NaNoWriMo. In simple terms, NaNoWriMo involves the effort of participants each to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. There's also a book about this written by the founder of NaNoWriMo, Chris Baty, called No Plot? No Problem! A Low Stress, High Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days. I had heard about NaNoWriMo years ago from a friend but hadn't participated. Then, in 2005, Cherita checked out that book from the local library and we both read it. We also bought a copy of our own. We really enjoyed the book not only for its humor and silliness, but also for the genuine insight it offered, insight that we consider relevant not only to the process of actualizing such a dream as that of writing a novel, but also in other creative endeavors in life. We both participated in 2005 and I did manage to reach and slightly exceed the 50,000 word goal. I repeated that in 2006. And I'm happy to report that this year, in 2007, I not only reached and exceeded 50,000 words, I also achieved my "personal best" NaNoWriMo word total by exceeding 67,000 words.

Many participants in NaNoWriMo find that one of its most challenging aspects involves "making the time" to stay on course with the process of writing. In my opinion, this remains one of the most important lessons that participation can teach. One of the reasons why many who want to write a novel don't is because they constantly tell themselves that they "don't have time." And of course, many if not most such individuals lead extremely busy lives and struggle to juggle many variables within their lives. Tragically, in my estimation, however, many who would really love to write end up - not necessarily with any consciously deliberate intention of doing so - relegating their dream forever to the back burner.

Nevertheless, in the days leading up to NaNoWriMo, I was struggling with juggling the various aspects of my life. I strove to reread portions of the book, No Plot? No Problem! before November 1. I did read some of it. Also, some portions of the book are intended to be read during specific weeks during the NaNoWriMo challenge. I did not, however, manage to read all the way to the start of the chapter that discusses week one of the challenge. I did manage to continue reading the book (often no more than one page per day) during the challenge.

In any event, I did find it especially difficult this year to devote the time that I wanted to each day to NaNoWriMo while still paying as much attention as I wish to other aspects of my life.

As a result, for the duration of the month of November, I did not add anything new to my blog and did not catch up on the missing October entries.

I did, however, manage on most days to continue a habit that I had started during the course of the year. That habit was to take photos each day. Earlier this year, when I've happened to fall behind in posting to my blog, such photos have proven invaluable in triggering my memory of at least some of what I did on a given day. Although I'm sure that I haven't managed to take photos literally every day since October 26, I've taken at least some photos most of those days, and I've downloaded and organized them by date.

Earlier in the year, when I would fall behind on my blogging, typically, I would catch up all the missing entries before composing and posting a current one. This time, that prospect seems so overwhelming that rather than repeating it, I've decided instead to post an entry literally for today and then, to the degree that I continue to be willing, to try to fill in some of the blanks between October 26 and December 12. I'm not making any promises to myself or my readers about how complete a record will emerge as a result.

I say this in part because during the last couple of years, I've faced increased challenges with carpal tunnel and repetitive stress injuries, including wrist and arm pain. To a large degree, I've overcome this by using dictation software on a Tablet PC which also allows me to write using handwriting recognition. Dictation software works more rapidly (although, by my standards, it remains quite sensitive to such conditions as environmental quiet). I've also discovered that if I use handwriting recognition software enough during a given day I start to experience pain in my right wrist and arm. Even so, no matter how much I use the stylus with the Tablet PC, I find it much more gentle than using a conventional mouse. Fortunately, I have other tools to help me, including some wrist braces and an infrared mouse whose pointer I move with slight head movements.

One thing that I can do only with a stylus right now, though, is image-editing. So I will take care, when reconstructing missing entries for the dates of October 26 through December 12, to avoid stimulating more injury in my right wrist and arm.

Because, as of this writing, I'm not clear how much of that missing record I will fill in by adding entries for specific dates, I want to provide a summary in this entry of what's happened during the intervening time.

NaNoWriMo qualified as a major event in November. Also, we enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner at my uncle and aunt's house.

On December 1, we enjoyed a wonderful 50th anniversary wedding celebration held at our church by Bob and Marty Atherton who have been involved in the church for many years. They have traveled all over the world, have many friends, have endured some tragic hardships, and yet have maintained a marvelously upbeat and optimistic disposition. I considered attending this event a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to share it.

On December 2, Dad and I attended church including the Open Forum Discussion. Aside from feeling tired given the activity the day before, this day proceeded more or less normally for me.

On December 3, a new challenge struck our family. I've sent various versions of the following words to friends and family.

Greetings, Everyone,

Thank you for voicing your inquiries and concerns about Dad's stroke. Dad asked me to wish everyone Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

In response to concerns a number of you have voiced, I'd like to summarize what's happened.
Monday night (December 3), Dad fell down twice, and in observing him and engaging in dialogue with him, Cherita and I noticed that the left corner of his mouth was drooping and his speech was much more slurred than usual. Initially he did not want to go, but I persuaded him to let me drive him to the emergency room. When they checked, his blood pressure was very high (216/120) and he was admitted to the emergency room immediately. He was later admitted to the intensive care unit. After a day or so he was moved to a normal hospital room. His blood pressure decreased and came under control. Many tests were run including an MRI. The MRI confirmed that he has suffered from a small stroke affecting primarily the right basal ganglia and to a lesser extent, the right parietal region of the brain. His symptoms include weakness on his left side such that he smiles on the right. He has remained coherent the whole time. His speech and swallowing have been affected. We're grateful, however, that he can still move his left arm and left leg, although they are clearly weakened. He's now moved to a rehabilitation hospital and he may stay there for as long as a total of two weeks. (Please note: he can be very difficult to understand, especially on the phone.) His neurologist has told me that his prognosis for rehabilitation is reasonably good.

We are encouraged in the sense that this could have been much worse and we're glad that I was able to get him to the hospital quickly.

I'm grateful for the various forms of concern and support that you have offered.

Gratefully,

Vid Axel, Dad's eldest son and caregiver

Even though we are grateful that Dad's stroke was less severe than it might otherwise have been, not only the experience of the stroke itself but also the stresses related to it have exacted a toll, including on me. I've spent a great deal of time engaged in communication with so many family members and friends during the more than a week that's passed. Even though I'm managing to sleep, I still often feel tired during the day. I still have many concerns about how this will evolve. I'm also feeling much concern about how I can balance all the different things that I passionately want to do. I was actually feeling concern about this before my dad ever had the stroke. I'm also feeling some sadness because for a few, short months prior to his suffering from the stroke, he had reached a higher level of independence than he had attained in a couple of years, even securing approval from his neurologist to drive again. Not only because of NaNoWriMo, but because of other things going on, I would have really liked a vacation and some serious time by myself starting in early December. Then this happened!

Among those things with which I'm struggling include striving to find adequate time with which to focus on homeschooling with Aliana and spending time with Cherita, who remains exceptionally busy with her entrepreneurial effort with Axel Designs.

Hopefully this text will help provide some intelligibility about why my blog lapsed as long as it did and will help clarify what's been going on in my life since October 26. I do hope to post at least something for each day, going forward.