365 days ago, as Wipeout chirped from the television in the empty living room across the hall, I sat cross-legged in my room and grinned at my computer.
I picked up my phone to text my mom and let her know that a staggering twenty people had clicked their way onto my blog.
As an afterthought, I let her know that, by the way, I started a blog.
Happy birthday, Freak of Fandom.
She’s grown so much since that February 6th with one post, one page, one view, and a low-quality header portraying a smiling weeping angel.
(I have no idea why I thought that image would invite people in)
How time flies. Still, I shouldn’t get too carried away in the celebration just yet – it’s important to make sure that my blog is healthy and progressing normally. For this purpose, I turn to the internet’s incorporeal pediatricians –
What are some of the developmental milestones my child should reach by twelve months of age?
“From eight to twelve months of age, your [blog] will become increasingly mobile, a development that will thrill and challenge both of you. Being able to move from place to place will give your [blog] a delicious sense of power and control—her first real taste of [virtual] independence.” ~ healthychildren.org
I am really not sure I trust my young blog with anything so enticing and dangerous-sounding as a “delicious” sense of power – but I suppose she did get a bit of a taste, maybe this past December with the Time of the Doctor trailer breakdown that got over 1200 hits the day it was published (1000 more than I’d ever gotten before).
More developments to expect in a healthy child blog:
Language Milestones
- Pays increasing attention to speech
- Responds to “no”
- Babbles with inflection
- Tries to imitate words
- Repeats sounds or gestures for attention
She seems to be on track. I like to think she’s doing rather well in the first milestone, but maybe not spectacular in the second; however, she does the next three items almost exclusively (never really stops), so it sort of averages out.
Growing up so fast.
This outlet has been here to document a truckload of my reality-based events – my DC trip, the chronicles of my first bow hunt and first real job, and that time I totally dissed a rainbow for wifi (still kind of annoyed with myself about that).
And of course, the force of the fiction has been strong with this one as well – Freak of Fandom has carried me through the end of Lizzie Bennet Diaries and the start of Emma Approved, the break-up and make-up between me and Once Upon a Time, the anticipation and aftermath of Sherlock season three, and far, far too many instances of me quoting River Song’s “spoilers” and thinking I was still being original and cute.
But the coolest thing about this is the people I have gotten to connect with.
You guys.
You are beyond fabulous. Some of you I knew before the blog, some of you I met in the midst of the blog, and some of you through it – but you guys are all awesome, and your encouraging words never ever go unappreciated.
I am so honored that any of you would choose to hold my hand through this process.
God bless you lovelies, and thank you all so very, very much!
(By the way, mom, I know it was you who clicked on my blog 1200 times in a row last December. Love you.)
All that’s left now is to gear up for another year, and, as ever, be of good cheer, dear friends.
(Music helps)
Happy birthdays and unbirthdays to everyone!