It seems like only a couple of months since I was posting a chapter every Friday, and formulating stories in my head that spanned three or four years of writing and two or three years of posting.
I can’t believe it’s been more than five years since I contributed anything to this site.
I also can’t believe it’s been longer still since I’ve done more than cursory work on any sort of fictional story.
But all the above is true.
A lot can change in five years and a lot can stay the same.
My expanded family is all out of the nest but doing well.
My two middle stepchildren are both married and one is a parent.
My son is half a world away in Europe for graduate school.
Our adopted daughter completed culinary school and is working as a sous chef in a nice restaurant.
A kind, level-headed adult has emerged from her troubled childhood and I couldn’t be more proud of her. She is a wonderful sounding board for my almost teen-aged granddaughter.
My oldest little girl is now closer to 40 than to 30 but still one of my favorite people in the entire world.
She is still who I hope to be like if I ever decide to grow up – funny, generous, friendly (I could go on but think of any positive attribute and it likely fits).
My wife is still at the university and I’m still at the company I joined in 2019.
We both are in different roles now. My wife finally was recognized for her accomplishments and intellect. She is now the provost, in charge of all facets of student life from overseeing dorm assignments to approving curriculum.
I am currently the marketing director and vice president of development – for reasons no one can adequately explain.
There have been losses in my life, too.
My youngest niece died unexpectedly last spring from an undiagnosed heart ailment. My great-nephew joined a fire company and died in an explosion in 2022. Both left children and spouses to mourn them along with everyone who knew them.
My last brother- and sister-in-law passed away in the past couple of years.
It’s hard to put into words how I feel about my brothers- and sisters-in-law. They were all married into the family before I was born and I never made a distinction about who was a brother or sister and who was in-law. They were my family and I loved each and every one them for literally my entire life.
My brother and sisters are still around, but starting to slow down as they reach their late 70s and early 80s. I make it a point to drive in to visit with them at least twice every year.
The loss that hit me hardest is the one where I expected to feel the least.
My first wife and my son’s mother was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in late 2021. She died shortly after we managed to share the triumph of watching the life we created graduate high school.
We didn’t have an easy life together and there were more bad times than good in our relationship. But she had a hard, painful death that affected my son (and my grand, step- and adopted children) greatly. I don’t miss the life we had together but miss the vibrant young woman I once knew. And I have come to regret that we both were too childish to set aside grudges and to make the best we could out of an awful situation. I hope somewhere there is a world where bitterness didn’t cloud our judgment and we put the well-being of our son and oldest little girl front and center. I’m saddened that we didn’t do that in this world.
On the writing front, I haven’t done much on anything that will ever be finished but I’ve started to write again since the first of the year.
I’ll see something that strikes a chord and remember it long enough to actually sit down later and put together a scene.
I have a couple of new things at around 10 chapters each – enough to get a plot together and the characters fleshed out but not enough that I can’t walk away if it becomes a chore.
I re-read Azkoval a few weeks ago and I’ve split out the paths that I had allowed to meander along without much guidance.
It will take me a while to remember how I planned to pull everything back together but I’m going to rewrite most of the ending anyway so I have some leeway.
For now, there is no way to contact me via email. The old Yahoo account that I created for corresponding with folks from SOL is long dormant.
To those who have wished me health and happiness, I have both. And I return those sentiments to all the SOL denizens and their families and friends.
To those who have wished for me to finish Azkoval or put together something new … I’m going to try!
Jay C.
4-10-2026