Coming ‘Round the Bend

Well, here we are…December 24th. My favorite day of the year, aside from the first day of autumn. A day where excitement is high and “Scrooges” are few.  A day where children reach their height of anxiety and where parents reach their height of insanity.  A day where we allow ourselves to feel a tingling of anticipation for what’s to come…Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve also ushers in another milestone for me this year as well.  Tomorrow, Miracle on 32nd Street will have been in operation for 1 month and 22 days…not a tremendous milestone in terms of length or significance…but an important reflecting point because of the original aim of this site.

Back on November 2nd, I laid out my goals and aspirations for this blog:  to perform one random act of kindness, every day, up until New Year’s Eve. These “random acts of kindness” quickly became labeled as RACs, or Random Acts of Christmas.  Through my purposeful actions, I wanted to inspire “Christmas spirit” within myself, and, most importantly, within those whom I interacted with.  I had spent far too many Christmas which fizzled out by the time the Big Day rolled by, and I wanted to find a way…any way…to revive that long lost Christmas cheer I had harnessed so long ago.

An experiment.  A challenge to fulfill.  A place of laughter.  A hobby.  An outlet for “do-gooding” and creative writing.  These are all labels which have fit my blog along its short journey thus far.  And, as New Year’s Day gets closer and closer, I wonder what other labels my blog will take on once the original project has crossed the finish line.

Originally, I never intended this blog to document anything but my RACs. As I got lost in the world of Blogging, however, I became a member of a much larger, funnier, more poignant picture.  I began to frequent other blogs which made me laugh, cry, think, and re-think.  I developed a core of “friends” on Word Press who have stuck by me through good posts and bad.  I have learned some of the necessary tools to be a good blogging friend (i.e. re-blogging, re-Tweeting, commenting, trackbacks, etc), and have become entrenched in a reciprocal world of writers, photographers, humorists, and thousands of others who claim a small home in the Blog-O-Sphere.

In other words, I got hooked.  I no longer had a blog with a time-sensitive goal…I became a blogger, through and through.  I have subscriptions, and I subscribe to sites.  I have followers, and I follow others.  I “Like” great posts, and re-blog about the ones I admire.  I manage my site comments, while simultaneously tracking my own.  I check the Freshly Pressed every day to find new writers and offer my two cents on their offerings.  I tweet.  I Facebook.  I StumbleUpon.  I go through all of the motions a hard-core blogger partakes in…finally, I’m a real blogger!

A need for Christmas spirit turned into an idea.  A small idea turned into a goal.  A goal turned into a blog.  And that blog turned into Miracle on 32nd Street, a place not only to read up on RACs, but a place to share a dastardly laugh, wax nostalgic about great memories, cope with life and all its challenges, and connect with wonderful, wonderful people who aim to do these exact things on their own blogs.

I’ll never forget the first time someone mentioned my site on their blog.  I was a few days into the blogging process, when an email alerted me to a new comment on my site.  Little did I know that Ferabeth, over at A Happy One, had written about how much she enjoyed my site.  I was ecstatic.  I was overjoyed.  I was reaching people with my words, and they were reaching back.  Other connections were soon made with fellow bloggers who have made me cackle with delight, giggle with silliness, well up with emotion, and debate what film truly is the best Christmas movie of all time (I’m looking at you, Clay Morgan).  I slowly began to make friendships and acquaintances which have grown stronger with each post.

There are many, many people I need to thank for their love and support with my blog…without them, it wouldn’t have gotten past just being a simple idea without a home.  Uncle Lewis and The Mom have known about it from Day One, and from Day One, they’ve been religiously manning their laptops/cellphones to read all new and updated posts.  They’ve immensely encouraged me to keep this site going, and have served as editors, muses, and inspirations for many of the articles (and, the butts of many jokes, might I add…thank you!).

Ferabeth was one of my earliest “friends” on Word Press, as I previously stated, and we’ve kept up a blogging rapport ever since.  I’ve done this similarly with Bob, Marina Sleeps, Fnkybee, and Thoughts Appear, a few of my major commentors…as well as Nazia, Ava Aston, and WillowMoonShadow. These people make blogging a joy.  You all have no idea how wonderful it is to see your names in my comment section.  I always anticipate a good statement from you!  There are a few others who have recently begun to visit my site on occasion, and I look forward to getting to know them, as well.

Then there are the bloggers who go above and beyond the call of duty.  The ones who, through whatever weird twist of fate, ended up tickling your fancy, and subsequently, you reciprocated the tickle (don’t let your mind go there….). The Edmonton Tourist (or E.T. as I like to call her) and I go back and forth almost every post, for we have a bond on something that is stronger and more precious than gold:  The Muppets.  In fact, she even tried to play matchmaker with me and her potato-chip-eating-cookie-consuming offspring.  What a gem.

Then, there’s that Sister Merry Hellish, someone who has the ability to make me pee my pants and levitate, as according to one of her recent posts.  She was very inspirational when I was first trying to find “my voice” in the big world of blogging.  Her irreverent humor knows no bounds, and I admire her for that.  And, she makes fun of Lindsay Lohan.  Need I say more?

New to the bunch (but amazingly helpful and insightful) is Angelia, photographer and mother extraordinaire.  She was even kind enough to email me her ideas and tips for all things camera.  Not many people are willing to take that much time out of their blogging work to send a private email.  Angelia was.  Plus, she’s just a rocking mom who has a great love for all things family.  That’s A+ in my book.

And rounding out the entourage, there’s “The Boys”…Chase McFadden and Clay Morgan.  Chase had a post which was Freshly Pressed at the time of our introduction.  I immediately fell in love with his writing style, and the anecdotes of his children, whom he affectionately calls Slim, The Hellcat, Perpetual Motion, and Tax Credit #4. His posts always feature plenty of photos, plenty of laughs, and even a song or two about plungers.  Clay found my site when my face found the pavement…no, really.  I fell off some icy steps, and in his first comment to me, he hoped I would feel better….without ever posting to me before.  That, and he expressed a mutual admiration for all things National Lampoon and Monty Python.  How could we NOT be friends?  Plus, he coined the term “subscribbled” and has a better knowledge bank than Wikipedia.

On top of that, both of these gentlemen really got me into the swing of Twitter, a service I just got into with the creation of this site.  They taught me how to re-tweet, mention, and they are two Twitter-ees that I follow steadfastly.  And, as all gentlemen should, they reciprocate awesome blogging manners:  we all post on each other’s sites.

And here we are…Christmas Eve, and my quest for RACs is nearly complete.  But, as I’ve realized over the course of these past two months, because one door must close, another must open. A challenge is finishing the end of its run, and a new one begins.  The challenge to consistently and honestly express oneself to others who wish to do the same thing.  The challenge to provide a laugh, a giggle, or a smile. The challenge to remain a good blogging friend to those who support me.  The challenge to be original and to inspire…and above all else, the challenge to write what you mean, and mean what you write…

I accept that challenge….

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