I often question the value of this blog. After all, while grief is a permanent state its intensity varies over time and circumstances. I’m not sure, either, what I have to offer is very much by way of comfort. I don’t coat grief with a film of sentiment, because to me a vitally important part of grief is anger, and allowing that into the discussion tends to scare some people away.

My uncertainty is evident by my lack of updates here. Yet, this blog is probably the project that is closest to my heart above all of my other writing and professional work.

This was brought home to me recently by the experience of NPR reporter Scott Simon, who tweeted from his place as witness to his mother’s death. At first glance such a project sounds cheap and shallow, the kind of tweeting that makes everyone uncomfortable due to its inappropriateness.

Simon somehow, and by his own reports unwittingly, turned it into a profound study of the human experience. He was a loving son whose affection for his mother was evident in every tweet he sent out. By turns heartbreaking, funny, and insightful, his tweets reflected not only his mother’s wonderful personality but the strength of their relationship. Sharing that via a social network enriched the lives of all of us who were watching, and gave him an outlet for his grief that reached out to thousands of supportive people.

And that is my reason to keep this blog going, right there. Social networking (and I count blogging under that umbrella of services including twitter, facebook and G+) can show the worst of us (some subreddits are proof of that) but in some situations, if used with the same honesty and sincerity we treat face-to-face interactions, they can be a positive, enriching force in our lives.

So I’m continuing with this blog. Maybe just posting once a week, I don’t know. My schedule is busy. But this is important, not just for me, but (I hope) for anyone who stumbles across this place.