Next steps

1 I'm overwhelmed with all the comments I've had. Thank you all so much!

2 I said I liked the idea of an alphablog. Well I like the idea so much I'm going to do it twice. An alphablog, just an A to Z on life.

And coupled with that, alternately or maybe just intermittently, a travelalphablog (say it quickly!).

I hope I will see you there.

The End

Wow – I’ve done it. Or should I say, Phew!

There have been times when this has been easy. Entries I have been delighted with, words flowed easily, friendships and relationships celebrated.

At other times this has been really hard. Dissatisfied with particular entries, finding it hard to capture the essence of the person or my relationship with them in just 44 (or more latterly 45) words. Or simply depressing, at times realising that I don’t have anything nice to say about people I’ve known all my life.

But it has always been enlightening. Finding that I don’t have 44 words to write about people I thought I knew well, finding that I could write dozens of entries about other people I thought I didn’t know, remembering how much I care (or don’t), learning new things about myself as well.

About the 200 mark I wondered how I would get to 250 let alone 365. At 300 I realised I would have to cull people from my list. But in the end they culled themselves. And at almost the last minute I remembered people I had forgotten to list!

I have really enjoyed the discipline of writing only a specific number of words, when my natural inclination can be to just write.

What am I going to write about now? I’m tempted to start an Alphablog, along the lines of IB’s Alphabird blog. I cannot pretend to be as masterful as she. But it sounds fun.

Me 365/365

45 years. Only 45 words to sum up.

I know myself better now than ever before.
I know my failings, my limitations, my struggles.
I know what I’m good at, what I stand for, what I value.

I think I’m okay.

I’m happy with that.

Other x365ers

IB was the first to welcome me to the x365 family, and the constancy of her presence and encouragement, humour and insight, and that of Bridget, Helen, and Mrs S, has kept me going. They’re part of my day now - long may they keep blogging.

Nicholas 363/365

He makes me feel old. Maybe the words Great Aunt don’t help. Maybe because I remember his own mother’s birth. Or maybe because I was pregnant when he was also in the womb, and now that seems a lifetime ago another life a different future.

The one and only Susan 362/365

From the reservation in Canada to diplomatic life, she carried herself with dignity, kindness, intelligence and humour. After my first ever Thanksgiving dinner, we sat on her balcony drinking wine and talking for hours, with Bangkok’s lights glittering around us, the city traffic roaring below.

Chris H 361/365

Opinionated, hard-working, loyal to a company that wasn’t always loyal to him. He was the reason I left ... I didn’t want to become like him - 50-something, bitter, trapped. I’m glad he has new opportunities, although I miss his terrible toilet humour now he’s in Vancouver.

Zoe 360/365

Zoe (aged 7) and I (30-something) regularly discussed the latest episode of Changing Rooms. She had amazing taste, flair and such strong opinions for someone so young. I’m hoping that her creativity and renewed enthusiasm will burst through once she’s survived these difficult teenage years.

Lesley 359/365

An impressive intellect, rational scientist who with grief discovered creativity. We’ve never met, but have much in common. Older women dealing with the thought that we’d forgotten to be mothers till too late. Trying to find logic and reason when life does not make sense.

Julie 358/365

Infertility, IVF and subsequent ectopic pregnancy she had endured enough already. With rock bottom self-esteem, questioning what it was to be a woman. Too much! Too much too for her husband. He left. Easy for him. She couldn’t. Stuck with her body and her memories.

Amanda No.2 357/365

We were friendly colleagues in NZ, nothing more. But when she passed through Bangkok, and we met for dinner, we could not stop talking. Our men sat bewildered. My husband, shaking his head, said “I never believed two people could talk non-stop for so long!”

The last Peter 356/365

Dependable and capable, we became friends those few months we worked together. I felt his betrayal when someone else was appointed. But now he’s much happier, in a company where he’s valued and doing well ... and an important client to me ... It’s who you know …

Dama 355/365

My roomie those busy three weeks in an apartment in Bahrain. She needed little sleep, 18 hour days meant I got little. We discovered a shared pleasure in camomile tea and a silly comedy on TV before bed, similar working styles, and a fledgling friendship.

Simeon and Ros 354/365

Simeon and Ros were good friends in Bangkok 14 years ago. We had lots of fun together, but sadly we have lost touch since. An internet search shows he has risen to some heights in his diplomatic service. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Gorn 353/365

Spotless apartment, clean clothes, delicious Thai food daily. Teacher turned maid, she had fallen on hard times after divorce, ashamed to tell her family. So I felt conflicting emotions when she left - happiness her family would care for her but selfish regret for my loss.