(43-14) Welcome Back Commenters

I hate to admit it; but I am ridiculously thin skinned, which is why it's almost unbelievable that I endeavor to write a blog and put myself out there for the world to criticize. I generally give people's comments and opinions much more credence than I should; so to actually put myself in a position that invites people to tell me what they think of me on a regular basis is a real risk.  With that being said, I suppose that my NEED to write far outweighs my fear of criticism; and that's REALLY saying something.  Now don't get me wrong, for the most part it's been smoothe sailing on "The Bumpy Ride," and thankfully I haven't experienced an abundance of opposition.  I just want you to know that I am very motivated by your comments and I do take your input into consideration when I'm thinking of new blog topics; which is one of the reasons why your comments mean so much to me.  Whether it's a comment that's actually left on my blog, on Facebook, via email or even in person, I am grateful for all of your feedback.  OK, I'll say it, "Hello, my name is Paige and I'm a comment junkie."    I get very excited when I receive an email notifying me that someone has left a comment; and can you imagine my surprise the very first time that I got a comment in Chinese?  Now this may come as a shock to you, but I don't actually speak Chinese; however, I have authorized Blogger to translate my blog into other languages; and then when someone leaves me a comment in a language other than English, I copy and paste the comment into freetranslation.com to see what it says before I post it.  If it makes sense to me, I share the comment (even though YOU don't know what it says,) and if it is incoherent, I don't.
When I first started writing "The Bumpy Ride" I had a few friends who would comment regularly; and I truly appreciated the encouragement, but I got spoiled; and then if they didn't leave a comment I would assume that it meant they didn't like that post, when the truth of the matter was that they were probably just busy.  I NEVER want anyone to feel like they have to comment gratuitously, but there is one commenter in particular that I have missed...
It's been a while since Michelle M left a comment on "The Bumpy Ride," itself.  Occasionally she'll comment on Facebook or email me, but she kept telling me that every time she tried to leave a comment she was unable to see the the letters that she would need to type in order for the comment to be submitted and therefore couldn't leave her comment on the blog itself.  One other person had mentioned the same to me, but since I was receiving comments from other people I just figured that there was some kinda glitch going on and I didn't investigate further.  Well tonight Michelle M and Max came over for dinner and she asked if she could use my laptop to see if she could try to leave me a comment.  Of course I said yes; and after she got her comment all typed up, she called me over to show me that she was having a problem with my computer as well.  The problem was that the letters she would need to type were not appearing; and the box was blank.  I told her to just type something in the box; and by that I meant type ANYTHING in the box, but she took it literally and typed "something" and then new letters appeared.  AHA, I knew it!  For some reason it wasn't giving her letters to type, but once it thought that she got it wrong, it produced new letters and she was able to get through once and for all - WOO HOO!  Welcome Back Commenters!  Honestly, I'm rather impressed with myself that I was able to assist in bypassing this minor pitfall, considering how un-techy and un-computer knowledgeable I am; but I think Michelle M was even MORE surprised... It's true what they say; solving a problem is good for your self-esteem.  I'd felt better than I had all day.
So now I'm not sure that I haven't contradicted myself all over the place and I feel the need to surmise; so in short (YES, SHORT:)  I LOVE your comments, but I don't want anyone to feel that they HAVE to comment.   I revel in your reassurance and I am gratified by your praise.  When I wrote "TBR" on a less than regular basis, I knew that I was taking a chance each time I wrote; but now that I am writing daily, I find that sometimes it's easier for me to come up with a topic and sometimes its a challenge; but I / we need to keep in mind that my journey this year must cover ALL topics; from what I was thinking and feeling to a new recipe that I tried and EVERYTHING in between.  I just hope that you know that whether you comment or not; that I appreciate your time, your consideration and your patience.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING