I was going to do what I've been doing these recent turbulent weeks, and cross-post something here that I also published on Our Salon.  But I don't want to.

Something's really been bothering me lately. I've never been good at balancing things in my life. When one part takes my concentration, I let others fall away.

 And I feel like I've done that with friends and acquaintances on OS.  Like all of us here, I log in when I can. I post something.  And then I try to read and comment on others' posts - and often something goes wrong, and my comment doesn't stick, or the page won't load.  I've been advancing little by little, trying to keep up, trying to read work by bloggers I love - especially those I can't read anywhere else.  What used to be a purely fun process, has become arduous. And then I don't take time to respond to comments on my own posts, and...well, I just feel bad.

I want to say Thank you to everyone who's read and commented on my posts here these past few weeks, despite how hard it is to log in or even read something.  I want to say thank you to those OSers who've kept being kind, kept caring about me, even if it seemed like I didn't care about them.  I do.  I care about you all and am so glad to still be a part of this place.

A lot of changes are happening in my real life, a lot of projects and plans, and a lot of it is time-consuming and thought-consuming.  Besides the technical problems, that's the only reason I'm not here more often.  I hope that things will calm down - in a good way - soon, and that I'll be able to come back and take part more, whenever the site makes that possible.

 Thank you all for being here, for being you, for what you write, for what you say - thank you.  I wish you a wonderful 2013, full of happiness, health, hope, and inspiration - and, who knows, maybe even a restored or even improved Open Salon.

Best Wishes and Utmost Gratitude,

 Alysa