Hey 19!

19 years ago tonight, after the last trick-or-treater departed and we turned out the porch light, I hit "post" on my very first entry in this space. 19 years and more than 2,700 published posts later (!), I am still here, still writing about pregnancy loss, infertility and childlessness -- which is why I started my blog -- but also about books, getting older, dealing with the aging parents (from a distance), being an aunt and great-aunt, living in a condo, living through a pandemic -- in short, life.  

The Internet, and the blogosphere, have changed dramatically over 19 years -- but there are still many of us out here, writing about and connecting over our shared experiences -- if not always in old-style blogs these days, then on Substack, on social media, through podcasts and through private communities such as the Childless Collective. The childless-not-by-choice segments of the infertility and non-parenting communities have grown by leaps and bounds. There's always room for improvement, of course! -- but the progress has been unmistakeable for those of us who have been around a while. (Long may it continue...!) 

How long will I keep writing here?  Who knows?  I never would have imagined, 19 years ago tonight, that I'd still be here all these years later. Never say never (either way), right? Granted, my output has slowed a bit in recent years (and a lot this past year), after hitting an all-time high of 213 posts in 2021 -- the height of the pandemic, coincidentally or not (versus 132 posts last year in total, and 94 to date in 2026, including this one).  I've been distracted with other things since my mother's death in January -- and sometimes I find it hard to focus on other things that once consumed me, especially online stuff.  Quite frankly, even before Mom died, I have felt like I don't have quite as much to say here as I once did. (Or that what I do have to say is just a repeat of something I've already said here, probably more than once -- and often using the exact same wording too!)  

But still, not too bad. :)   Blogging has been a amazing outlet, a (partial) record of my life I can consult and look back on, and a great source of comfort and wonderful friendships for nearly two full decades -- and right now, I have no intentions of closing up shop anytime soon. :) 

Whether you've been here from the early days or just found this blog recently, thank you all for reading and commenting. :)  

*** *** *** 

Blogging stats, 19 years later:  

 
Number of years blogging: 19

Published posts (including this one): 2,7444

Average # of posts per year: 144 (two fewer than last year) 

Average # of posts per month: 12 

(So far in calendar year 2026, I've published 93 posts -- 94, including this one -- a minimum of 5 posts (in both January and May) and as many as 16 (in September, thanks to World Childless Week and its daily themes!).

Published comments: 12,830 

Page views (all time, as of yesterday): 5,918,092 (!!) an increase of 2.3 million views over 2025!!  

My 2025 total views of 3,608,027  (!!) was as many page views in one year as I received in the previous 17!!  This month alone to date (October 2026), my page views have been more than 400,000 (!).  Clearly, something weird is going on, as I noted in this post here from last year -- Infertile Phoenix wrote about the same phenomenon then too.)  

Followers (on Blogger):  157 

Past blogoversary posts here.

First blog post ever here! :)