#80) Goodbye, & God Bless America

I’ve written to you before about telegrams.

For some unknown reason, that maybe only God understands - they absolutely fascinate me.

But really, they were just another form of human written communication. Of their age.

We used to write STOP. Now we write with Hashtags.

Writing.

It has been around forever. And it will never die.

Just as cavemen wrote on earthen walls back in the day. The Blogger, of today, writes on a website.

And just as much as governments, and those in positions of high power, try to censor human communication. There will always be those who fight the censor. Always those on the side of freedom of human expression.

Writing is an art. Not a science. Writing is a freedom of expression. Writing is freedom of speech.

And I write this…..

I write this as America burns.

I write this to say ~ Goodbye.

80 posts.

I never knew where 80 posts would take me. I never knew what would be coming. In my wildest dreams I couldn’t fathom writing this 80th post for publication. Or, even moreso, I could never imagine the subject of the content that I am sharing with you today in this post.

Looking back, I never knew what I could and would be posting about on this date into my blogging future. I never could even imagine or wrap my head around it. Because, you see, each and every day, each and every post, I merely let the writing itself drive me. I was in the passenger seat half the time as my other half drove the car. Maybe it was God who was in the driver's seat. Yes, that’s who it was.

And we took my car to many, many places.

80 stories.

Boat rides. Air planes in the sky. Southern Living House. The Keys. Christmas. Baking. Recipes and lots of cooking. Markets and shops and fairs and fests and parties. And now, a global plague... A Civil War.

80 intentions to spread inspiration, hope, love, and something else.

Tough love. True Grit. Self-Determination. Motivation. Movement. Momentum. Massive Action. In that exact order.

To inspire YOU - to give yourself a kick in the behind, and get yourself out there. To Live.

Why?

Because tough love and true grit makes one stronger.

And we need strength in this world. Resiliency.

With what and how was I going to do this?

By showing up for myself.

With:

Poetry.

Art.

Paintings. Many of which were gifted to loved ones. Painted from my heart. Specifically swiping every stroke for the person I gifted the piece to. And many others were painted equally from the heart, passion onto canvas, and placed up for sale on my Etsy Shop.

Stories.

Truth.

Fiction.

Challenges.

Debates.

Dining reviews. Breakfasts. Lunches. Dinners and Diners.

Coffee Shops.

And donuts. Ohhh, all those gosh darn donuts...

I certainly ate a whole heck of a lot of calories - especially carbs - purely for the benefits of my readers. For the sake of the written word - but of course.

And…

Adventure.

Because, I guess I was trying to tell you, that the ADVENTURE of visiting a donut shop, is the
Adventure of life itself.

The adventure of waking every day, and you deciding what to make of the day, is life itself.

The small things are the important things. And there’s just no way to say that to you in words.

Sitting with the best of friends, poolside, having a laugh.

Meeting others for dinner.

Talking to loved ones on the phone.

Ladies exchanging little trinkets and jewelry and candles for birthdays and Christmas.

Men sharing a beer and talking ‘shop’ by the barbecue grill, while all the women gossip about other stuff.

Spending the Fourth of July celebrating the birth of pure freedom. Independence. Liberty.

Watching your nieces and nephews and God children grow up.

Photos.

A simple text exchange with forever friends and kindred spirits, on the hardest days of your life.

And, yes, even being Facebook friends with your friends and family.

I could go on all night.

I could pull out creative wording and imagery to convey what I want to say.

But I don’t want to.

And I don’t want to spend the time on it.

Because, this week, I’m still out there living. I’m still out there showing up for myself. And, I’m still not letting anything stop me.

And this post is... what it is.

It’s the middle of the night.

We are in a Civil War.

My heart is broken in half.

And I’m crying.

The “Goodbye” in the title of this post is… what it is. But it’s also something else.

The “Goodbye” is the real thing. And the “Goodbye” is the creative wording and imagery I’m trying to convey.

Specifically, the “Goodbye” is aimed directly at my Subscribers.

If you are a Subscriber, you, and only you, have received emails from me, twice a week. In those emails I have greeted you with a great, big -

“Hello, My Bright & Shiny Sunshine Friends!”

Happy Monday, I’d say.

Happy Friday, I’d say.

Ohhhh, the secrets of the CFD Subscription is out of the bag now - the benefits of being a Subscriber of Christine’s Floridian Dreams! I tried.

I really did my part to help inspire you with those words, didn’t I?

Did I inspire you to love your brothers and sisters?

Did I inspire you to love those brothers and sisters back, who don’t even love you? In return?

No, probably not. I suppose.

But, maybe, just maybe, I inspired you to get out there, and live your life…

Maybe, I inspired you to visit a Krispy Kreme, and try a hot-off-the-fryer donut. Or to go to Dunkin and get some munchkins. Or drive through Starbucks… and get a puppuccino for your own furry angel. Or to go out to dinner, and order some fries.

And, if I did inspire any of that? Great…..

If I made you cry a tear. Great.

If I made you laugh. Great.

If I inspired you with a post that you loved so much that you actually passed it along to someone who you thought may benefit from it in some way. Great. I suppose that I, then, at that point, technically speaking, really did my job as a Blogger well - if you shared even one of my posts in some way with someone else. For someone else to benefit from, who you thought could use the words. My words. My writing. My telegram - of today. And for that, you’ll never know how much that action means to me, and I am eternally grateful.

Cause, I did my job well. As a Blogger. If for that reason alone.

And - basically, what else I’m trying to say, is that, if you have consumed even one donut in the last year because I have written about them, then I have done my job successfully.

And today, my job - is to say Goodbye.

The good news of this Goodbye… and yes, there is good news… is that the Goodbye is only to my Subscribers. You know, those bright and shiny Sunshine Friends? The ones I mentioned above. Who maybe don’t love me or think I am bright and shiny - but, maybe - they received an email from me twice a week.

To those Subscribers, and to those Subscribers who love me… this Goodbye is for you:


And here’s the meat of it -

I am saying Goodbye because I intend to stop emailing you. Twice a week. Once a week. Whatever it is. Whatever it was. I will not be sending emails on behalf of Christines’s Floridian Dreams out any longer. Your inbox will not arrive with a stamped letter. You will not be receiving a telegram from me any longer.

But - and here’s the good news….

That’s the only gosh darn thing that’s changing.

You will still be able to reach out to me - any time - at:

Christinesfloridiandreams@gmail.com

And

www.christinesfloridiandreams.com

Plus, @beansfldreams on Instagram and Twitter. As well as a Pinterest board and a Facebook page at Christine’s Floridian Dreams. And now a YouTube at Christine Pieper.

Christine’s Floridian Dreams is still alive.

Christine’s Floridian Dreams is still breathing.

Christine’s Floridian Dreams is bright and shining in the sun?

Who in the H E double hockey sticks knows. Other than God.

But, either way, my point is that my website is not dying.

My website is my home. My website is my property.

My (only) little piece of property, that I and I alone - own - on the Internet, is alive.

I just won’t be emailing you any more.

Why? I don’t want “Christine” flooding your inbox twice a week anymore. For many reasons.

And for all the oh-so-experienced Bloggers out there... if you’re reading this... you’re probably gasping from that one sentence in this article that ultimately destroys my online business. You’ve probably spit out the drink you’ve just swallowed. You’re probably laughing your donkeys off at me. She’s making the biggest mistake out there, I KNOW you are thinking. What a rookie - you’re thinking? How pathetic can she be?! Hahaha. Stop taking subscribers? Stop emailing those subscribers? That’s less clicks. That’s less page read through. That’s less communication. That’s less engagement. Less ways to know what content your subscribers love and what they hate… That’s less time on her site. Ha haaaa. She’s over. Going out of business sale is on. Come and get the clearance items. There’s a great deal going on in the purse department.

Yeah, well, call it whatever you will. Call it just another small business failing you say. Call it being a victim of the plague, or this mess of the hate in the aftermath. Call it a soldier down in this War. Of the anything, and everything, going on out there. This moment. Today. Did I mention we are in a Civil War? - Call it all what you will. I know why I am making this decision for my business. And that’s the plain art of this paragraph.

I do know that this post will probably be shared around the Internet on Blogging Tutorials… As the prime and number one example of What Not To Do To Grow Your Blog.

A Blogger searches out Subscribers, right? A Blogger lives and dies by Subscribers, right? Well, I’ve never been your typical Blogger... and I don’t ever intend to be, either.

And I say “Intend” because I mean to intend. I mean to continue. I’m merely not emailing out the content anymore. But, I still will be creating content. And I still will be publishing content.

You see, the great thing about property ownership - is that I can do it all.

You know, it’s sorta like how if you’re renting a house - you can live in the space, and breathe in the space, but you can’t really remodel the place? You can’t paint the walls pink without checking with the landlord first. Or, ya know, like, let’s say - take a jackhammer to a wall, and blow it out. Or, ohhhh - What the heck. Add a second bathroom, why don’t we? Take the bathtub and move it to the other side of the house?

Sure, good luck with all that - if you’re renting.

But when you own it, you actually CAN take that bathtub and move it from the bathroom to the living room and place it directly in front of the fireplace, why don’t we? Sure. Whatever, who cares. My decision. I own the house, I can decorate the living room any way I choose. Heck, I have the power to hire a plumber and redirect the pipes. If I wanna take a bath next to the television. My choice.

So, as with my domain, my website - I own it. I decide on the content. I can be the writer. I can be the editor. I can be the publisher…. And in the end, I can be the moderator of my site, too. And - I can decide if I want to continue putting a stamp on the next envelope, lick the flap, and drop it in the blue box, or not.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m still doing my investigative research, I’m still writing my reports, I’m just not broadcasting the resulting content out over the AP any longer. I’m not visiting the Telegram Office.

And on a side, but related note, that I’m slapping atop this envelope with a yellow post-it - I have decided to terminate my Etsy Shop today, and effective today, also. All art, craft, and creation, may be going up for sale under my own website domain that you are already familiar with, at some point in the future. Some paintings will not go back up for sale at all though. And this decision regarding Etsy is already final, and already in effect.

And - If you know me at all, you know how stubbornly and fiercely independent I am as a human. I know what I want. And what I don’t. And I am assured in my decisions. So I can tell you this was not a decision I made lightly. Each and every decision I am announcing today came from my heart and soul. And I can tell you with great and sincere confidence, that God directed me toward this path today.

He, and He alone, is guiding me down my journey in this life. Since the day He saved my life, the rest of my life has been, and will forever be, devoted to Him. It is with His help, that I just, moments ago, closed my Etsy Shop. And it is with his footsteps in the sand, carrying me, right now, as I send this letter to post. And then, I’ll hop back down to solid ground, and keep going myself, after you receive my last and final email.

So, to sum it all up in some creative or word-flowy and imagery kind of way… basically, if you like Christine’s Floridian Dreams, and if you enjoy checking out my strangely arranged living room, it’s still there for you to see. You’ll just have to drive on by yourself, pull up into the driveway, get on out of the car, and ring the doorbell.

And, after you ring, it is then that you will see if I’m home, or not. And even if I’m not home, even if you missed me, even if I happen to be at Dunkin having some Munchkins and a large Iced Latte while you stopped over, just by visiting, you'll be able to enjoy the garden that’s on display in my front yard.

So, if you want to see my dreams, you can simply type in the letters w w w . c h r i s t i n e s f l o r i d i a n d r e a m s . c o m …. Into your browser, and you can find me there.

After 79 posts, and then and now this, my 80th, I’ll reiterate right here that there will be a post 81 - probably. - At some point. For any of you who are looking forward to it.

Because that’s where I live. And that’s where I’ll be dreaming. I don’t know if I’ll be bright and shiny. I don’t even know if the sun will be shining. But I do know one thing, and one thing only,

Goodbye.

Oh yeah - and Happy Wednesday! To all my bright and shiny Sunshine Friends!

Don’t forget to get out there and make today the best day of your life. And then, do it all over again tomorrow.

Hashtag God Bless America. Stop. ~

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Author:

Christine Pieper is an Artist and Lifestyle Blogger and Vlogger - living, writing, painting, and filming in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, with her hubby and eight year old puppy. She made a major life change in 2017 by uprooting and moving from Illinois to the Sunshine State, and has been living her best life in Florida since - detailing all her many and varied adventures living and traveling the Deep South to share with you. Her mission is to help you live YOUR best life - by getting out there, going for it, and making that big change you always dreamed of. Christine will inspire you to get over yourself, show up for yourself, and get out of your own way. The only one stopping you - is YOU.

*To catch all of Christine’s Floridian Dreams, just visit this site. Her subscription options have changed. Effective 6.3.2020.*

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