200

i giggled when i read your comments on my last post. of course you had already read the "ghost" post! of course you had. thank you for your reassurances (and your good wishes on one year here!). and for your funny reactions.

the conversation was ironic, on so many levels. and i knew that you would get that. but i also knew, once i re-read the post (a few times), that the nagging sense that i was being judgmental was not going to leave me. and that's why i decided to take it down.

melissa said it so well, in an email she sent me last week. i was being judgmental - in the sense of "hmm, that's not for me," rather than "that's wrong, period." but without all of this processing, the post wasn't clear. and so it's gone. a ghost. a laughing ghost.

one more thing. you probably don't remember the image of the internet neighborhood i mentioned in my last post. but i haven't been able to let go of it. in fact, i've been referring to it in emails all weekend. the image has become so clear to me, in a very concrete, visual way, and i wanted to see if i could bring it to life for you, too.

so here's how it goes. i imagine that the internet is the whole wide world. and shining egg is my home in the whole wide world. and you, you are my neighbors. some of you live next door. some around the corner or down the street. others live a few blocks away. some of you i know. some of you i've seen around town. some of you have lived here for years. some are new in town. but all of us - whether we're mothers or artists or crafters or writers or photographers or food-lovers or whatever it is that we are that brings us here to share our lives and read about each others' lives and make connections and learn and grow - we're sharing this neighborhood on the internet. this is our neighborhood. you are my neighbors. and i'm so glad to have found this house, on this street, in this slice of the internet, surrounded by all of you.

(incidentally, this is my 200th post. and these photos are from my photo-a-day project.)

Comments

[TD wool design]

new to town and so glad you and others have opened your doors :)thanks.

[hrsj]

Good morning neighbor! I'm so happy we've met Emily, you brighten my days. :)
guess what, my next post on my blog {probably sometime today} will be my 200th too! we're like 200th post twins or something!

[Tracy]

That first image is captivating.

I had the exact same visual of the "neighborhood" concept as soon as you mentioned it last week. It was a word that I immediately felt a frame of reference to.

[Jess]

Hi neighbor! I love that analogy! Your blog always brightens my day, thanks!

[beki]

I love your description of the neighborhood - so true!!

[Amber]

Beautiful photos. I feel bad that you worry over that post---I didn't take anything negative away from it but I know that one can be the most critical on oneself. I have looked back at some of my posts and worried that it could have been taken in the wrong way but I think we all do (don't we?)! No worries only good thoughts...

[cloth.paper.string]

oh emily, i love this image of the neighborhood. it brings a closeness between all of us that sometimes is hard to actually see.

and, just last week i was thinking of our blogs as our homes on the internet, and our banners as our front doors. yet another facet of this idea of the neighborhood!

[Alicia A.]

I'm glad you're my neighbor.

I told Heather this same thing: thank you for being here in this space, because if you weren't, I might have missed out on our friendship completely.

BUT you ARE, and I didn't. :)

[g.]

The first photo is just wow.
g.

[charlotte]

funny how we've all met isn't it. Funny how there are lots of little micro-communities online and we're one of them. Isn't it strange how we've all hooked up. I wonder about it on an almost daily basis - it's nice you've put it into words.

And I love that top photograph. It and my current photo on 44 are, I think, related :)

[Sally Rhodes]

Well hello, neighbor! It's unfortunate that I can't bake you a homemade apple pie and bring it over for a welcome gift- but I guess it's the thought that counts!

[Theresa]

congrats on your 200th post-you ARE a good neighbor

[T does wool]

congrats on your 200th posting-and I think you ARE a good neighbor

[erin]

so glad you are my neighbor.

[joetta maue]

what a lovely post...so glad be a part of the neighborhood.

[Mintyfresh]

I love the idea of the internet neighborhood. I like, too, how you can be walking down a street that you've been on for years and realize there's a house there that you just never noticed before, but it's a gem, and you now make sure to walk past all the time. That's what I'm doing with your blog, now!

And I saw the ghost post, and even clicked over to say something, but can't for the life of me remember what I was inspired to say!

[tifanie]

i've deleted a post before as well (i have to watch how much wine i drink before i start posting). it wasn't quite as funny as i thought when i read it over the next day. oops. love the photos. just love them. i looked through the ones at flickr too for your "photo a day" project. lovely. very inspiring.

[kate]

Ah, the "not for me" vs. "that's wrong" issue. I have so many unwritten posts due to this very issue - how to share and vocalize issues without coming off so judgemental, so you know...And frankly, I'm a bit sad at how much I feel I am editing myself/holding back. I worry I'm barely speaking below surface level, out of fear of offending.
I so enjoy your blog. Keep on talking neighbor.

[Pina]

Happy 200th post and happy one year! I really enjoy being your neighbor. And I am so happy I can visit so often. :)

[Kristen]

I love the first sot in this post. I feel like I am the one peeking, catching a glimps out the window. You really captured an experience.
Kristen

[melody]

Oh, I like that image very much! :)

[Baroness von Bloggenschtern]

This post I found from jumping from Asthma Girl to Evil Chef Mom to wonderful you. What a lovely sentiment. I would like to believe that the people I choose to follow and cheer on and joke with are my community, but your visual seems to make it ever more clear.
Thank you for this.

[molly]

I love this idea, emily--of us all being neighbors. what a wonderful way to think of it.