Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Cheers To Seventeen Years: The Dept. Of Nance Is 17

 

I just realized that the Dept. of Nance is Seventeen this month. It seems impossible, but I've been writing here for Seventeen years. Aside from marriage, motherhood, teaching, and voting Democrat, I'm hard pressed to think of anything else I've devoted myself to with that sort of determined longevity. 

Admittedly, writing here has not received the same sort of fervent attention all along that the other four above have consistently enjoyed. As my students used to say years ago, My Bad.(And that would be eleven years ago, by the way. I retired from teaching high school English in 2011. It's one of the many milestones recorded here at the Dept.)

Isn't that some of the value of writing a weblog--to have a timeline, a record of your life and your perspectives over the years? Sometimes a diary or journal can be too emotional and introspective. Here, under the gaze of intimate strangers, we can tell the stories of our lives without the asides, the footnotes, and the companion text.

Seventeen years have seen a great many changes in my life, and so many have been positive. Some of the positive changes have come from hardships and challenges. Others have come from hard work and perseverance, plain and simple. Still others have been luck--the good fortune of timing. Many have been because I was willing to learn from my mistakes. 

Within those Seventeen years has been some heartbreak as well. Most often, that heartbreak is having to say goodbye to people I have grown to love. Other times, it's letting go of expectations that are no longer possible. Sometimes, it's simpler than all of that. For someone as stubborn as I am, pure acceptance can be difficult.

And, I'm surprised to say that in these Seventeen years, I actually have learned some Patience after all. As so many of my LongTime Readers know, it has never been my gift, but I work hard on it every day. I'm learning to Slow Down--finally!--and that is helpful with finding my Patience. It may not be there for me every time, but I'm finding reserves of it more and more. 

Thank you for being with me here at the Dept. of Nance as I write about the world around me from my perspective. Some of you have been with me for a long, long time. Some of you have have joined me In Progress. I hope you all look forward to what I have to say.

Here's to more years ahead with fewer days (weeks!) in between. Again, thank you all so much for reading here. I value your presence more than you know.

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30 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the 17 year milestone! I've only been a reading here for a year and a half, I'm guessing, but enjoy your blog and look forward to each post.

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    1. Jean--Is that all? I feel like you've been with me much longer than that. Perhaps I've been reading you longer. Doesn't matter. Thank you for your good wishes and kind words, along with your continued readership.

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  2. Congratulations on this accomplishment. It's amazing how quickly years go by-- and who consistently bothers with you along the way. Glad to have found you out here in blogland. Here's to 17 more.

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    1. Ally--Thank you. It really does continue to thrill me that people want to read what I have to say. I love that! I'm glad to have been found. :)

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  3. Dearest Nance,

    Blogs are indeed things folks write 'under the gaze of intimate strangers.' (I love that expression--- so perfect!)

    I have had the pleasure of reading your blog for 16 of those 17 years, and also thoroughly enjoyed the Brian Williams Tie Report as well as Stuff on Our List. I have laughed out loud at your brilliant sark and sometimes cried over a sentimental remembrance. Your cumulative posts cover a broad spectrum of the patchwork quilt that makes up our lives, and I am always excited to drop by the department and read the latest post. —Or the not-so-latest post! I haven't always commented due to work overload, as you well know, but I do read previous posts to catch up when I have been away for a while, and often browse through your archives.

    Though we've never met in person, I treasure our virtual friendship. Here's to many more blog years ahead!

    XXOO

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    1. Ortizzle--Thank you, dear friend. You've been with me for so long and, though we've never met IRL, I count you as a true friend. I was just thinking about how I used to juggle three blogs at once ages ago; how in the world did I do that? I can barely show up here anymore. And those were when I was working, too. Goodness.

      Someday, we WILL actually meet. We have to.

      Thank you so much for your loyalty, participation, and the very kind words. I am always happy when you can make time for me here.

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  4. Congratulations! That is quite the accomplishment. I'm sure that you know there are many people who can't do some things for seventeen days in a row, much less seventeen years.
    Cheers to you and may you continue to share your world with us. XO

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    1. BB Suz--Thank you. And I'm one of those people who can't do some things seventeen days in a row (like write a post, exercise, stop swearing, cook an actual dinner); that's why I'm annually amazed that I am still showing up here and posting something to keep it going.

      Your encouragement and support are so appreciated. I'm glad you're here.

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  5. Congratulations on your 17 years of blogging. Great job! Keep it up!

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    1. Ellen--Thank you. I plan to try, and I like your enthusiasm!

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  6. Every year when you share your anniversary, I am in awe once again at how long you have been at this. You are truly one of the blogging pioneers and also phenomenal! I always love your writing and while I don't know exactly how long I've been following Dept of Nance, I know that I've appreciated having you here and admired your commitment to writing and pondering life while sharing it all (or much of it) with us. And as you well know, like Ortizzle, I was following you for The Brian Williams Tie Report as well. Happy 17th and thank you for everything!
    Love,
    Shirley

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    1. Shirley--Thank you, my friend. That means a great deal coming from you, the writer of a Very Useful Blog. Honestly, if you earned a dollar for every person I referred to your site, you'd have a tidy little sum by now. I'm so grateful to be able to have you as a reliable resource for gluten-free recipes and advice. I especially like telling people that I ate gluten-free at your home and enjoyed every meal.

      You know, I did some of my best creative writing over at The Brian Williams Tie Report Archives. That was a fun blog. Someday, I'll have to tell the story of it here, and how it went viral nationwide, and how I ended up with an autographed tie from the man himself.

      Thank you for being here with me and for being one of my most loyal readers. And for being my friend. XO

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  7. YAY for seventeen years and YAY that I found your blog. Keep on keepin' on!

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    1. Vera--Thank you! I plan to, in one way or another. LOL

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  8. Hi, Nance, Happy 17th blog anniversary! I'm surprised American Greetings (or some card company) hasn't at least created an e-card for occasions such as yours. Over at Mary Worth and Me I am missing your possible caption for today's bold-face haiku. It's a pretty fraught haiku, if ANYTHING in the Worthiverse can be said to be fraught. I loved your bananas lament, by the way. All the best!

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    1. LouiseF--How lovely to see you here!
      It does seem a Missed Opportunity for the Hallmark-type industry, doesn't it? Perhaps they still think that we're obsolete, thanks to other forms of social media.

      Don't tell anyone over at MW&M, but I rarely even look at the strip anymore. It just got so awful that I couldn't even be snarky about it. I think it finally, truly bored me. I'm sad about that.

      Thanks for reading here, and for your good wishes. I'll try and pop over there soon one day.

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  9. Congratulations, Nance! Seventeen years is quite the accomplishment. I wish I'd found you earlier but I'm happy to be here now.

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    1. Gigi--Thank you, and what a nice thing to say. I'm glad we happened upon each other when we did--sooner rather than later. Anytime is a good time to make a friend, right?

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  10. This is reason to celebrate! I found you along the way and am glad I did so. I think patience may be the key to survival, especially the faster the world around us goes.

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    1. Joared--Thank you. I'm glad we found each other.
      Great observation about Patience, Joared. There's no way I/we can keep up with the pace of world events, so practicing Patience in our small pathways will help keep us sane and happy.

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  11. Congratulations! I am sitting here wondering how on earth I found you way back in the mists of time... You must have been commenting on someone else's posts & I followed you here. I'm so glad I did!

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    1. Bug--Thank you. I can't remember, either, how you wended your way here. I was browsing my archives earlier today, and it was a bit saddening to see how many people have either stopped writing online themselves or dropped away from reading/commenting here. I'm glad neither of those apply to you.

      It's always good to see you here, and I enjoy hanging out over at your site, too. We've been together a long time!

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  12. Nance, I cannot think of my online world without you in it. I think you have been there from the very start - an inspiration, a mentor and a friend. And, yes, the tie thing. We have in common the experience of trying to turn little illiterates into older and wiser users of the language in its proper form. We have also a shared humour. Yes? My day is brighter when a post of yours graces it.
    Speaking of proper forms, the 'newsheet' the Economist has decreeed that it is, in some instances, proper to use data as a singular. I have now read the article twice, mouth breathing, and cannot understand all of its reasoning.Here's to trivia. Long may they thrive.
    And long may you thrive, delighting us here as you do. Congratulations on your achievement.

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    1. Mary--Dear friend, you compliment me overmuch. I am so glad you are here with me and that we are friends. We do have so much in common! It was a good day that brought us together.

      The Economist has sadly bowed to The Inevitable, as so many of our standard-bearers have been. While I understand that The Language has always changed and been fluid (truly, one of its strengths!), it does sadden me that, one by one, Old Reliables and the moorings of our grammar are becoming loosened and jettisoned. I now understand how upset the French are by the littering of their language with laziness--merely adding le or la in front of English words. Still, I don't want to be a fuddy duddy or be accused of applying a Purity Test for language. Slippery slope, that.

      Thank you so much for your very kind words and encouragement. I do plan to keep on writing, and I always intend to be less lazy about it. That last part...sigh. A work in progress.

      XO

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  13. I finally found you again. It's good to read your blog. And congrats on your 17 year milestone!!!!

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    1. Anni--Thank you. Hard to believe, isn't it?

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  14. Happy Blogaversary! I wonder if any of us had any idea we'd still be at this all of these years later? I certainly didn't. And of course it has changed a lot since those early days.

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    1. J--Thank you. Never in a million years (as they say) did I think I'd stick with it this long. I've become a Slacker Blogger, but I'm still writing here. Thanks for hanging around; I always appreciate your thoughts.

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  15. I'm sorry to be so tardy. I keep meaning to add your URL to my blog roll thing at the side of my blog, so I'll know when you post. I'm quite new here. Wish I'd discovered you sooner. I enjoy what you have to say. The banana sign in the grocery store was hilarious. With your teaching background, I'm a little nervous that I might make a grammatical error. :0 Congrats on 17 years. Quite impressive. I've read the other comments and must go check out the GFE blog, since I have celiac disease. Diagnosed in '15, but still welcome recipes and tips.

    Looking forward to many more posts. Thanks for being so welcoming to a newcomer.

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    1. Ernie--Thank you for your kind words. I'm always happy to have new readers here, especially those who take the time to comment and share their thoughts.

      Please do check Shirley's blog over at gfe-Gluten Free Easily. She is a real leader (and force!) in the gf community, having led groups and panels, been a vocal advocate, and a recipe developer and adapter for ages now. I know you'll find lots of great stuff at her place.

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