I have returned! Yes, I have awoken from a long, dormant slumber, like… like… shoot. Surely there must be some analogy appropriate to the moment for emerging with new life after a season of cold silence… hm. I’ve returned like a thing that wakes up as symbolism for rejuvenation. A bear? Muhammed Ali in the “rope-a-dope” fight? Man, I’m really rusty
Anyway, some while back I posted that I was in a year of change and huge new commitments. I’m still in one piece – technically – and closing in on finding some equilibrium. I hope. Well, the year was what I said, but I also said I really hoped to post periodically as well. That turned out to be (and I don’t want to lose you with jargon and complex concepts) “totally kidding myself.” Instead I chose the route where I see that I have new views or comments, or think of an idea, and mutter “I should put that on my blog…” and then stare in to the middle distance for a moment, breathing through my mouth, before shaking my head and getting back to work.
There are some good stories to tell, and I’ll post some of the more interesting (and less “complainy”), and hopefully get back to posting on a regular basis here on this site, which I’ve had such fun with for so long. Hopefully you’ll come with (or return to…) me!
In the interim, here’s the best thing that’s been keeping me so busy.
Cheeks have not been digitally enhanced for extra chubbiness.
The Byronic Man 
April 6, 2015 at 9:40 am
Welcome back! I’m in a similar boat – once I felt ready to start posting again, I have ideas but just can’t seem to get myself to actually write. Hopefully you can! In the meantime, chubby cheek pictures are anyways entertaining.
April 6, 2015 at 11:56 am
And for some reason people didn’t flock to my posts that said things like, “Funny idea: rejected character names from classic books. Like… you know… you get the idea… funny names.”
April 6, 2015 at 9:47 am
Welcome back Mr B. Looking forward to hearing more about your year in blogging exile / tax exile / prison / unable to pay for internet access / had better things to do / whatever it was…(delete as appropriate)
April 6, 2015 at 12:00 pm
Wha… are you saying you don’t remember the specific details of my post from about 6 months ago in which I explained my year? Shocking. Shocking and hurtful.
https://thebyronicman.com/2014/11/10/the-byronic-man-now-at-one-with-the-universe/
April 6, 2015 at 2:58 pm
Yeah, that’s what I would say if I had been in prison too…….
April 6, 2015 at 9:49 am
Welcome back! And thanks for bringing that cutie, too!
April 7, 2015 at 11:51 am
He’s a good helper. Mostly it consists of grabbing the computer and trying to chew on it, but that’s helpful…
April 7, 2015 at 1:53 pm
Wetting the screen is always good for germ maintenance.
April 6, 2015 at 9:57 am
He looks just like you! Welcome back!
April 6, 2015 at 11:58 am
He actually looks like my dad – but with less hair and chubbier cheeks. If it stays that way, I suspect that will freak me out on more than one occasion.
April 7, 2015 at 9:19 am
Squish looks so much like my mom that it is scary. And he has since the day he was hatched.
April 6, 2015 at 9:58 am
What a charmer! (The baby, I mean – although I’m sure you’re charming, too.)
April 7, 2015 at 11:53 am
He better be – he’s got an older sister who’s quite the crowd-pleaser. He’s going to get a lot of practice at charming people just to try and keep up. Basically, I’m expecting to be invisible for the next 18 years.
April 6, 2015 at 10:01 am
I foresee many, many humorous postings on parenting.
Don’t make me into a false prophet.
April 7, 2015 at 11:53 am
The hard part is going to be not going to that well **too** often.
April 6, 2015 at 10:04 am
Are those baby cheeks tax deductible?
April 7, 2015 at 11:54 am
If they’re not, I’ll just show him to the tax guy. “Want to pinch his cheeks? Give me the write off.”
April 6, 2015 at 10:37 am
It’s good to have you back. And yes, she does look like a huge (but adorable) commitment.
April 7, 2015 at 11:54 am
You can’t tell that’s a boy??!! I’m so offended! Not really. It’s always funny when people are embarrassed at getting the gender wrong, when A) who can tell? and B) who cares?
April 9, 2015 at 7:27 pm
Once I really looked at the photo, I did see it’s a boy (or maybe I’m just subconsciously taking your word for it). But that means this is your second, isn’t it? Or third?
April 10, 2015 at 8:46 am
Second. Second, and I’m barely hanging on. I don’t know how people can do three.
April 6, 2015 at 10:44 am
What a sweetheart!
April 6, 2015 at 11:55 am
Thanks! And the baby’s cute too, isn’t he?
April 6, 2015 at 10:45 am
Well loooooookie here!!!! Someone heard the band was getting back together!
And really, with those cheeks, really? You thought you could keep those things under wraps for another year?
April 6, 2015 at 11:55 am
He’s a laugher, too. Those cheeks? Having a giggle fit? It’s too much.
And I just got back from your site – looks like you’ve been at it in a big way! No surprise, really that we found ourselves coming back to it about the same time. That twin thing.
April 6, 2015 at 10:48 am
That “middle distance” will get you every time.
It’s nice to see you back and thanks for sharing that cutie patootie.
April 6, 2015 at 11:53 am
I’ve been training for longer distance staring when I’ve had the time.
April 6, 2015 at 11:11 am
Life happens. 🙂
April 6, 2015 at 11:52 am
Doesn’t it, though?
April 6, 2015 at 12:53 pm
That’s a pretty awesome reason for your absence! He’s adorable 🙂 Welcome back
April 7, 2015 at 11:55 am
Thanks. Now I just need him to do hilarious things often enough for me to write about it. He has a sister, though, who seems to have no trouble in that dept.
April 7, 2015 at 12:02 pm
From what I gather from your blog, she must be following right along in your footsteps then – I’m sure your son will as well. It will be fun to see what you share with us. 🙂
April 6, 2015 at 1:55 pm
Byronic Man and his sidekick, Byronic Boy.
It’s like a comic strip waiting to happen.
Better bring diapers and Depends.
Welcome back. *grin*
April 7, 2015 at 11:56 am
Well, it was my career plan to be a superhero until I was about 11, so there’s a good chance that he’ll be up for it, too!
April 8, 2015 at 4:47 am
As long as the tights fit… *grin*
April 6, 2015 at 2:53 pm
OMG, it’s Rip Van Blogger! Seriously though, welcome back! I’ve missed the snark.
Congrats on the new little one too. Seriously cute little guy.
I look forward to seeing your new posts.
April 7, 2015 at 11:57 am
Thanks! You’d think I have an arsenal of posts just loaded and ready to go, wouldn’t you? Ha ha. Yep. You’d think that…
April 7, 2015 at 12:55 pm
Use the kid as inspiration. Little ones are an endless source of humor.
April 6, 2015 at 5:13 pm
Welcome back!
April 7, 2015 at 11:57 am
Thank you! Glad to see you’re still blogging ’round these parts!
April 7, 2015 at 3:28 pm
Thanks! There are still a few familiar faces, but many have stopped blogging. I’m back in Wisconsin this week helping my parents, so my reading and writing is almost non-existent, in fact, I just got on my computer and I heard my mom call out something about towels. GAH!
April 6, 2015 at 5:15 pm
Welcome back! I too was on a break for about a year. Don’t have a cute baby to show for it, just a crappy illness. 🙂
April 7, 2015 at 11:58 am
That’s too bad. Amazing the things that come along, isn’t it?
April 6, 2015 at 5:22 pm
Hiya B-Man! There is an interesting phenomenon occurring in my blogging world. Bloggers who I thought were long gone are coming back by the droves. It’s both wonderful and strange. The timing, I mean…not you. Well, maybe you. I don’t know. Maybe I need to disappear for a while now. Coming back seems all the rage, but how does one come back if one never leaves? 😉
April 7, 2015 at 11:59 am
I know Jules restarted recently – who else?
And you could always make a big show of leaving, then only leave for a week or so, but act like it’s been several months.
April 7, 2015 at 1:35 pm
I could. I bet I could fool a lot of readers. As for other blogger-come-backers, they probably aren’t on your radar, but there are two besides Jules who I followed regularly who just came back after being AWOL. Maybe I overstated my case.
April 6, 2015 at 7:43 pm
Glad you’re back, Mr. Byronic Man 🙂
April 7, 2015 at 11:59 am
Glad to be back!
April 6, 2015 at 8:34 pm
The offspring have a way of trumping anything having to do with creativity and personal hygiene. No judgment coming from this gal. Glad to see you’re back.
April 7, 2015 at 12:00 pm
And the 75th reading of “Bear Sees Colors” does little to fire up the imagination.
April 7, 2015 at 7:30 pm
Oh come on, you’re not trying hard enough. A Kandinsky-esque painting maybe? Get some finger paints and let that imagination run wild.
April 7, 2015 at 5:37 am
I’ve missed your particular voice in the blog-mob! Can’t wait to read about your year, but no pressure, really. Don’t want to spook you back to oblivion.
April 7, 2015 at 12:00 pm
**hides under desk**
April 7, 2015 at 8:22 am
Welcome back! We saved your spot, right there next to the coffee maker. You haven’t missed much from me, as I generally only write when forced to or if I find myself incredibly inspired.
April 7, 2015 at 12:01 pm
“Forced to” tends to yield better results for me. Inspiration always seems to come with “Harsh doubt on second look”
April 8, 2015 at 2:06 am
Welcome back! If you’re going to be busy, being busy pinching chubby cheeks is the way to go. Congrats on the new addition to your family, he looks like a keeper.
April 9, 2015 at 3:22 am
You stopped blogging the day I followed you. Naturally, I took it personally. Now, I see that it is possible your universe did not relocate away from me, but away from all your other followers. It is they, rather than I, who should feel offended that you chose a mere babe and the shallow appeal of his chubby cheeks and Roy Rogers eyes over their many stimulating contributions to your site, and their fawning adulation of you.
April 9, 2015 at 11:21 am
They’re why I left. You’re why I came back. I swear.
April 9, 2015 at 12:20 pm
I choose to believe. And thus, the healing begins.
April 10, 2015 at 7:33 am
I don’t know if I believe you. Those cheeks canNOT be real.
Welcome back.
April 13, 2015 at 2:09 am
I missed your posts! So glad to have you back again. The chubby cheeks are totally worth missing out blogging for 🙂
April 13, 2015 at 5:41 am
Looks like a great reason to be out for awhile. 🙂 Precious! And looking forward to laughing with you in future. (I, too, have been on a bit of blog-hiatus. Working on a novel and trying to sell a house myself … tasks that loom too large for the mere blog.)
Peace,
C
May 2, 2015 at 3:22 am
Wow, look at all these people welcoming you back! I can’t decide if I should feel too young and new around here or too old that it took me so long to set up a blog.
Congrats on the little one!
May 4, 2015 at 7:30 am
Hm… well, if you go with “too young” you can be surly and dismissive and mutter, “Who’s this dinosaur? What, is he going to make ‘take my wife, please’ jokes?” and that’s always fun. So I’d go with that one.