A Message from the Founder's Keyboard

Welcome to September! 

     If you happened to drop by RBU: The Group Blog in August and were kind enough to read my ‘Message from the Founder’s Keyboard’, you will no doubt recall that it seemed as if I was feeling a bit blue about the fact that we’ve not had as many submissions and activity within our group.  Some of you probably even thought that I was ready to throw in the towel…until you got to the very end of the message and read that I wasn’t going to give up on RBU because giving up is entirely too easy and I care about this group and what it represents entirely too much to do that. 

     Sure I was feeling frustrated…but don’t we all at one time or another?  I imagine somewhere around attempt #345, Thomas Edison, the Wizard of Menlo Park, might have thought he’d never figure out how to make a filament that could resist an electric current without burning up or outright exploding within the glass bulbs in which he placed them.  But he didn’t.  He persevered and when he finally did figure it out he said of his hundreds of attempts before achieving success, “I have not failed.  I’ve just figured out 10,000 ways that won’t work.” 

     I rather like that attitude.  So much so that whenever my students used to say things like, ‘It’s hopeless, I’ll never figure it out’ or when my daughter gets down on herself and says, ‘Everytime I try to do ‘x’, it never works’ I remind them of Edison and point out that had he given up…who knows where we’d all be today.  Granted I’m sure somebody would’ve figured out how to make a filament but who knows how long that would have taken or how many things wouldn’t have happened because there were no light bulbs to illuminate the way for those other inventors?  And if it wasn’t for Edison…what would go over our heads when we come up with great ideas?    

     So when the time rolled around to come up with a theme for September, I thought long and hard about what it should be.  I wanted something that reflected the fact the way RBU and its members have grown over the year and a half that we’ve been around.  Most our members, the ones who’ve stuck to blogging, have seen their site mature.  They’ve become more confident in what their blog is all about and as a result their craft which more likely than not started out as nifty little hobby…has become an extension of themselves.  So I decided what better way to relay that than to have a theme that embraces the very essence of how we’ve all grown.

    Which brings me to this month's theme…Changes.  Yes, that’s the theme for the month of September.  I think it’s fitting because our group and our little site has gone through some interesting changes recently.  We’ve got a Google group page now where our members can post questions for discussion about all things bloggy.  We’ve also started using our Facebook fan page and group page more effectively and as a result have found a few new members which only helps to broaden our base so that our members have more potential viewers.  And we’re working to update the group blog page with a few goodies including a, hopefully, some contests!  Threre are some logistics involved with that though so it might take a while…but that’s okay because all the best changes come to those who are patient!  Yes, I think the theme ‘Changes’ is quite apropos. 

     Of course, I’ll must be honest and say the theme of Changes was also chosen for a purely selfish reason, too, because for the past 4 months or so I’ve been busy prepping, packing, I and moving halfway across the United States because my husband’s place of employment transferred him.  Needless to say, the routine of my simple life has been rather topsy turvy of late.  But instead of lamenting the way things used to be, I’ve decided to grab hold of those changes because I know that eventually I’ll wonder why in the world I ever let myself get so discombobulated. 

     And now to wrap this up, I’ll put on my thoughtful, philosophic fingers so I can type out something meant to inspire you as you go forward this month... 

     For those of you in the northern hemisphere summer is slowly drawing to a close…the once fresh green leaves on the trees have darkened after spending long, hot days baking in the sun and the flowers that once bloomed brightly leaving their scent on the breeze have all faded and are ready to fall into another long slumber, and the sounds of children playing in sprinklers and splashing in pools has given way to bagged lunches and the sound of school bells.  For those of you who live on the flipside of our beautiful big blue marble, the trees are starting to bud and the bees are starting to buzz as springtime creeps onto the scene.  Before you know it there will be spots of cheerful color everywhere and you’ll be fighting the crazy urge to clean house or perhaps your vehicle or boat or maybe even spiff up yourself.  Yes, the world, wherever you may be, is in a state of flux…changing…so hold on tight because life is one bumpy, thrilling ride!

Cordially,