Sara, saying that I made you "laugh and think at the same time" is perhaps the greatest compliment I could hope to be given! I'm glad you resonated with my thoughts and found something of value in them, even though they seem very half-baked to me, much of the time. :)

Betty Duffy, YES! That's exactly right. There are all of these people out there who know so many personal details about me (or you, for readers of your blog), who are no more than a stat in Google Analytics.  It IS a very strange thing. And then here's the other side of the strangeness: I can totally imagine getting in my car and driving two hours to visit you, like we're "real" friends, even though we've never met or even talked on the phone! We both write personal blogs, though, so we have open windows into one another's hearts and minds. It's all very surreal, isn't it?