Just had the best birthday I've had in my life.  I'm grateful for that.

And Win is the best part of my life, which continues to improve, even thought I'm now 66.

When I was new to grief I also began to gnash my teeth, grinding them, without being aware of it.  My dentist pointed it out to me and I was able to quit grinding them during the day, but not at night.

I started using guards at that point.  The ones you can buy in a drug store would last a night or two.  I ended up with very hard plastic ones from my dentist.

Then in 2019, while hiking on the Appalachian Trail, I lost my guard and replaced it with what I could, a soft one from a drug store.  It is now 2021.  I've basically had two of them, one of which I lost rather than using up.  I've gone from getting a couple days out of one to a couple years or more -- the physical side effect of grief that has been a barometer for me has had marked changes.

Other things are better as well.  I can enjoy my birthday and the holiday season does not fill me with sorrow.

--So an update.

I'm really enjoying my life right now, much of it revolving around helping out with the grandchildren.

I'm doing so much better now.  It is like I've crossed an infinite distance.

So, I'm providing a summary here, where my grief and related blogging transitioned, to let people know where I am now.

My blogging history (old links).

• My attempt at a backpacking blog for when we started trying to do a through hike is at https://ethesis.wordpress.com/
• My Trail Space trail journal entrees begin at https://www.trailjournals.com/journal/entry/596552
• My first blog started in 1997 at http://adrr.com/living/one.htm
• I followed that up at http://ethesis.blogspot.com/
• (still current) I’m a sometimes part of a group blog at https://wheatandtares.org/author/ethesis/
• My Appalachian Trail photo album on Facebook.

I'm suddenly back involved with gaming.

• Rarely at http://apostephen.blogspot.com/
• More often at https://www.facebook.com/groups/829726510438199
• Including a lot of files at https://www.facebook.com/groups/829726510438199/files
• How I used to feel:  What happened that I stopped work on this gaming? The link explains everything, but basically in a five year period I buried three children. Do I plan to start work again on a fantasy setting or as a game designer? Probably not, but you are welcome to pick up where I left off.  I had a good run.
• But then Doug Rhea contacted me to participate in NTRPG Con and a lot changed

Backpacking has become a major part of my life.  My wife and I finally finished the Appalachian Trail and will be starting the Pacific Crest Trail in 2022.

• https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=d20%27s%20h%20pageiking
• My current backpacking blog:  https://adrr.com/d20/

I probably will not blog much more here.  Spiritual posts and thoughts will probably be at https://wheatandtares.org/

Backpacking will be at https://adrr.com/d20/ and at https://www.facebook.com/WinandSteveontheTrail

Gaming posts will probably center around Shattered Norns.  

My general life and contacts with friends and family will be at https://www.facebook.com/stephen.r.marsh

Otherwise, we were on the Appalachian Trail in 2019 and then 2020.  With Covid and our condo already leased out we moved to Virginia for a year's contract and currently we are in Utah with family.  We will be on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2022.

And of course, once a year I'll be at NTRPG Con.

But I'm doing better.  I'll never be the same, but I'm in a place where I can find joy.