It happened again. A few days ago I loaded my blog post and forgot to click “publish.” The reason for this is probably silly. Although I get out of bed between 2 and 4 a.m., I’m afraid that if I post that early other notices will get on top of anything I share and the post will be overlooked. Well, more overlooked than my posts already are. So I wait until 6 a.m. to click. And some days, particularly on weekends, I’ll have the post loaded but I’ll get distracted and will forget. I discover it the next morning, stare at it in confusion for a while and then think, “I forgot to post this.” I have this conversation with one of my brothers, near my age, who insists he needs a handler. You forget to do things. Most of the time I’m pretty good at remembering—this blog is the center-point of my online existence, and I post every day. If I don’t forget.
Weekends are very busy. Almost as busy as work days with their shorted human hours. And last week was particularly intense. Two unexpected house repairs that required financing. Two birthdays. And grass that loved the high summer weather we had in April. (Our neighbor is trying to sell his house and I want to try to attract a new neighbor who appreciates those who make an effort.) As soon as I stepped outside, however, I was overwhelmed. During the week of summer weather I’d lost the long-term battle I’ve been waging against ivy that claims both fence and garage. And sapling trees that somehow thrive in the shaded north end of the garage that hardly ever see the sun. And I’m trying to teach, manually, a vine how to grow up a pergola that receives too much love from carpenter bees. Why can’t it learn from the ivy just over there? You get the picture. (Right now it is just 29 degrees outside.)
By the time I came back inside, I was exhausted and forgot that I hadn’t clicked “publish.” These days it gets light around six, and on work days I get delayed by jogging. Still, I know the click before I start work for the day. Weekends are the danger zone. I could use a handler. Or maybe I should just accept the 24/7 reality of the internet and publish as soon as I load the post. Does it make any difference? I don’t know. Please direct all questions to my handler.