Over at Lifehacker, someone asked the question – Is a blog a suitable vehicle for sharing information about a serious illness or death in the family? I don’t know what others think but I was glad that I had this outlet when my sister passed away a few months ago. The news came suddenly and a fast trip to England was necessary. We were separated from the rest of our family by an ocean and 5 time zones.

Keeping people up to date was a way for me to channel some of my grief and I heard from a number of relatives, friends and strangers who appreciated the updates and left comforting comments. This blog doesn’t really have a theme but quite a few of my posts have dealt with personal matters. Posting is sometimes hard, especially when the subject is difficult, but in general I find the experience of committing my thoughts to the web to be cathartic.