I was reading through my old PaD galleries the other day and realized how much I missed it. I miss the pictures, I miss the writing, I miss the friends I have on there....I miss it all. What I REALLY miss though is what my PaD was all about in the first place. I miss being forced to slow down and look at the small stuff in life. I miss noticing all the little things in life that make my life different from anyone else’s.

I miss watching Ella drawing the most magnificent mermaid the world has ever seen, all in purple because, after all, purple is her favorite color. I miss noticing that she is drawing to the absolute limits of her three year old mind and not just staying out of my hair. I miss the way she so deliberately draws each line as if it is the most important line to ever be drawn, ever.

I loved my PaD but I just got too busy. Too busy rushing around doing things and stuff. Too busy to comment on your galleries. Too busy taking pictures for money. Too busy coming up with excuses why I shouldn’t be documenting my life. Just too busy.

Well my friends, no more. My resolution for 2011 is to simplify my life. I need to cut out a lot of the unimportant stuff and get back to things that are good for me, like my PaD. I have attempted this before, never with very good results. I have always attempted to add this to my already crazy busy life. I will be limiting the craziness to make room now.

So I am back, hopefully. I hope you all will welcome me back after my absence, though I am not sure I deserve it. I had quite a following of really good people that I feel like I just abandoned. Pbase is where I got my start. Where my first critiques came from. Where I saw those first pictures from Neil Horner and thought, “Wow.....”

Hello Pbase. My name is Jim. I used to live here a long time ago. It’s nice to be back.