12+ years and 500 blog posts about stamp collecting

On June 23, 2009, I made my first Philosateleian blog entry. In it, I wrote that I planned “to write about stamps, stamp collecting, and the mail in general.”

Over the past 12+ years, I’ve done that, and I realized recently that this would be my 500th blog post. That averages out to well under one post per week, so I can’t claim to have been a particularly frequent poster, but 500 entries? That’s a milestone that I never even thought about way back when.

And 12+ years—a lot has happened in that time span. In terms of stamp collecting, I’ve become much more focused in my collecting interests. I have a couple of tubs of unprocessed stamps and covers that I pick at as time allows, but I rarely buy much of anything for my collection these days unless it’s a 14¢ American Indian stamp on cover. I bought my first perforating machine, and later my second, so that I could improve the looks of my Philosateleian Post local post stamps, and my appreciation for a well-designed, well-perforated stamp has only grown as I’ve dabbled in that myself.

Of much greater importance, I’ve gotten married, had a baby, moved halfway across the country for a new job, then gone back to work for my former employer. My family and I have visited Yosemite and Disney World and the Great Smoky Mountains. I have to say that God has given me more than a fair shake in life.

There has been stress and sorrow, too. Losing Grandma. Saying goodbye to Granddaddy…and then to my mom. Those are the hard times, but we keep moving.

So, will I make it to blog post #1000 in the year 2033? None of us even knows, really knows, what’s coming up 12 minutes from now, much less 12 years from now, but I do intend to keep writing, hopefully informing and entertaining you along the way, and as always, I appreciate your readership.

Published 2021-10-14