There have been so many fond farewells to apricotpie posted on this site, so I wanted to write my own little goodbye.  It’s not as sad as it would have been a day or two ago, because I just read Mary’s essay and signed up for the new Apricotpie Outpost.  Am I happy? Oh yes. That isn’t to say that my grief has been totally removed, of course; but life takes on a brighter gleam now.   What do I love about apricotpie?  Well, where can I start? Apricotpie has been to me a motherly guide, a sturdy crutch, a humorous advisor; and it has ultimately formed that whole side of my self that is the writer.  Before I was introduced to apricotpie, I liked writing okay, and did well in school essays – but that was about as far as I went.  Now, not only am I half-way through a fantasy novel, but I have written at least twenty poems in the two and a half years I have been part of apricotpie, as well as having tons of story ideas bouncing around in my head. I am now also taking a college creative writing class, so much has my love of writing abounded.     And the people! The amazing, hilarious, crazily talented geniuses who are my comrades on this site – the people are incredible! What would I do without the people? My fellow, shall we say, apricots! I can’t thank you all enough for the support and encouragement you have given me over the years. The first few times I ever posted on apricotpie, I was so scared that no one would notice or comment, because I felt my work wasn’t very good. It has improved greatly since then, but need I really have worried? Your overwhelmingly encouraging comments have been so beneficial to, not only my writing, but also my confidence. You all are a blessing to me.   Just so, for those of you who I’ve given my email address to, I have a new one! If you’ve been wondering why you haven’t heard from me lately, it’s because of two factors:   1)      I have been oober busy; 2)      I don’t know your email address because I can’t access my old email   So please send me your email! I think the easiest way to do this is if you comment on my blog, telling me your email. (My blog, in case you don’t know, is faeriesandbroomsticksandunicorntails.blogspot.com.) I have comment moderation on, so you don’t need to worry about other people seeing it. Only I shall see! If you would do this, I would be so happy. I know we’ll be communicating through the Outpost, but even so, I would love to have your email.   I want to thank Ben for all he has done for us. Without his ingenious idea to build this website, life would have been a lot bleaker.  I want to again thank my fellow writers here on apricotpie. You have done so much for me, and I wish I could do something for you in return. In general, I want to thank apricotpie.com. I now proudly call myself a writer, and I hope what I have learned from here will be a beautiful light shining in the writing world. Above all, I want to thank God for bringing us all together. He has truly been the inspiration behind all our work, and the light behind all our friendships.   Love, Clare Marie