When I look at my contents page I see a pattern. I'll go a long time without updating, then it will get close to the end of the month and I'll have to come up with something for my On Display offering, so I write something and post it, maybe finish the month, and then stop again for two or three weeks. I don't like that pattern, and I want to change it.

Changing old patterns is what the last three weeks have been about for me. I was so vogorous about forestalling a slide into depression that I became almost manic (and I apologize if my casual use of those clinical terms disturbs anyone who copes with them as a legitimate diagnosis). I had several very high energy days followed by two very slow ones. I nurtured each mood in its turn rather than work against them.

One thing I did during the highest energy days was turn my attention once again and finally to the task of assembling some sort of chronicle of our family life. I've had pictures and memorabilia from Ron's family, my family, and finally our life together (which now covers more than eighteen years) stored in boxes and drawers for a long time now. A few years ago I invested in expensive archival quality materials for organizing and displaying them, but I didn't get very far with the project.

But something seized me late in October. I think it's my response to 9/11, a sudden apprehension that if I don't do it now, I never will, and a sudden comfort with an effort that might not be perfect.

So this piece is kind of a placeholder, a hinge. When I post this I'll also post the piece I wrote about Hallowe'en. I have notes and drafts of pieces that comment on many events of November, and I'll fill them in as I move forward. If I write two every day (not unreasonable given my current mood of determination), I'll have a complete November by the end of the month. So go read October 31 now, and check back tomorrow for November 1 and November 20. When November is complete, this hinge will disappear, not a bad thing since it's really rather pointless!