Keeping It Fresh

After about two-and-a-half years of steady blogging, I've been on somewhat of a hiatus since making the move from Kaufman to Terrell. The break can be attributed to a few different things. I became busier. I was working to re-acclimate myself with the Terrell community. My kids have grown to finally reach the age where they are involved in sports and other activities, reducing my wife and I to glorified taxi drivers speeding from one event to the next.

However, probably the biggest reason I quit blogging is it became tiresome.

The Hard Truth

I've got thin skin. I try to let things roll off my back, but I just can't. I care about what other people think about me. I'm concerned about how they judge my work. I suffer every insult, agonize over every error, sulk about every failure and fume over every negative comment.

Those are not exactly the best traits for someone in my line of work, but that's just who I am.

Of course, I'm also a glutton for punishment because I want need to know all those things.

Look, it's not difficult to surround yourself with people who won't tell you about your fallacies. It's natural for friends and loved ones to dismiss your critics as bitter trolls. It really would be easier to just ignore the criticism and move on. In doing so, though, I believe I would be doing myself a disservice.

Criticism is a necessary evil. It reminds us that none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes.

"You Never Write About Politics Anymore."

With my change in jobs, trips to the local courthouse have become less regular. When I stopped in last week to snap a photo of Kaufman County's new district clerk for a story, it didn't take long for one of my old acquaintances to find me. It took even less time for him to utter that phrase.

"And why don't you update your blog more often?"

Every weekend, I call my father. We've exchanged phone calls off and on for years, though, it's become more regular of late since my father's BS-ing buddy passed away a few months ago. Typically, the talks start off as nothing special. There's a recap of how the kids are doing. I probably complain about work. We both will talk a little sports.

And then it happens.