soulmates #3

It's been common knowledge around these parts for a while now that I've found my soulmate, but it has been a while since I shared one of the many reasons that FHDM and I belong together.  Let's fix that today, shall we?

Over at FHDM's blog, he averages 50-100 comments on most of his posts. It's a good thing I'm not competitive or the fact that his blog is slightly more popular than mine might derail us before we ever get started.  Lucky for both of us, my humility and lack of conceit and months of therapy have helped me come to terms with the fact that a best-selling author is going to get more blog traffic than a nobody from nowhere like me.

Anyway, early last week, FHDM wrote a post that garnered more than his usual amount of response.  In the post, titled "To Kill a Blog," FHDM explores the idea of no longer writing for the blog so that he can focus his talents on his books.  I, along with four hundred sixty-nine other fans, had something to say about that.  I only read a sampling of the comments, but most everyone was supportive in one way or another.  Two days later, FHDM posted a clarification, explaining that he hadn't meant to alarm anyone and was not going to immediately kill the blog.  He was just thinking out loud and trying to gain some perspective on what effects blogging was having on his other work. 

It reminded me, dear friends, of a post I did several months back in which I explored the unexpected challenges that had arisen in my blogging life.  The responses, though fewer in number than FHDM's, were of a similar nature.  Everyone loved me.  Everyone wanted me to be happy.  I shouldn't keep blogging if it made me miserable, but I should keep blogging because everyone loved me and my words so much.  Really good, affirming, encouraging remarks that made me feel completely guilty because I had never intended for anyone to think I was standing on a ledge about to hurl my blog to the unforgiving concrete below.  I didn't post a clarification exactly, but I did add a comment assuring the faithful that they were indeed stuck with me for a bit longer. 

It struck me, imaginary readers, how fortunate FHDM and I are to have this in common.  Well, perhaps it's not fortunate that we both seem to have been unclear enough in our original similarly-themed posts that we stirred up a misunderstanding.  But I felt blessed and humbled indeed that people cared enough to be concerned, and it seemed to me that FHDM experienced a similar blessing.  How encouraging to experience an outpouring of affection, an affirmation that the words that we're sending out here on the interweb are being received and enjoyed and occasionally treasured. 

Sometimes when I think about my future with FHDM, I wonder if the lack of commonality in our pasts will be a problem for us, so these moments of shared experience are important.  We are soulmates, after all.  I wonder how much longer I have to wait before he realizes that too.