I’m sitting here eating a late lunch and writing a column for next week while Jackson naps and I happened to glance at today’s date — January 24th — and it took me a minute, but then it dawned on me: it’s DW’s third birthday today! All day, I’ve had the feeling that I should be celebrating or something. I ran into Jack’s babysitter at a sing-along this morning (she watches another neighborhood toddler on Fridays) and I almost asked her if she could babysit for a couple hours this evening so Drew and I could go hit up a happy hour somewhere, but then I thought, nahh. We’re going away next weekend and she’s staying with Jackson for one night and that’s already pretty splurge-y and indulgent. But now I have an excuse! It’s DW’s third birthday! It’s not every day a site turns three, right? So I should totally go hit up a happy hour somewhere, right? THREE!!!
Thanks, everyone, for sticking around this long and helping me keep this thing going. Every day, I get to do work I love and stay home with my son — two things for which I am extremely grateful. Now, we should ALL go out to happy hour!
Oh, and since I tallied these things up last year, I’ll do it again:
In the last three years, I have published over 2100 columns, you have made over 170,000 comments, there have been over 3600 forum topics and over 90,000 forum replies. The site has been viewed over 16,853,519 times.
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Dear Wendy January 24, 2014, 3:00 pm
And I decided to skip happy hour and just asked Drew to bring home a bottle of bubbly instead. Taking care of a 2-year-old kid and a 3-year-old blog tires this old lady out.
GatorGirl January 24, 2014, 3:01 pm
Happy blog b-day Wendy!
It’s also canned beer day, so I will definitely celebrate with one in your honor tonight.
honeybeenicki January 24, 2014, 4:17 pm
I keep a board at work and every day I list what today “is” and mine says Beer Can Appreciation Day so I imagine that is close enough 🙂 It’s also Compliment Day in case anyone is wondering.
Dear Wendy January 24, 2014, 4:34 pm
You look very nice today.
kerrycontrary January 24, 2014, 3:03 pm
YAY!!! I remember I think I was following you on twitter at the time, and you said you were going to have something “big” in the new year so I kept checking for a DW site. Does that sound stalker-ish?
katie January 24, 2014, 3:05 pm
wow. this is insane.
Sara January 24, 2014, 3:06 pm
Awesome! Glad you are taking at least a little time to celebrate this milestone!
Taylor January 24, 2014, 3:07 pm
6.8 MILLION hits? Dayum lady, way to advise =)
Dear Wendy January 24, 2014, 3:10 pm
Actually, I had a typo. It’s 16 million, not 6!
Taylor January 24, 2014, 4:03 pm
Double da-yum. Actually, more like triple 🙂
Lyra January 24, 2014, 4:42 pm
AP is responsible for at least 6 million of those. 🙂
Christy January 24, 2014, 4:53 pm
I was HOPING someone would make this joke!
Addie Pray January 25, 2014, 11:16 am
So true, so true
shanshantastic January 24, 2014, 3:23 pm
Happy Birthday DW site! I have a party tonight but tomorrow night I’ll have a drink to celebrate! 🙂
jlyfsh January 24, 2014, 3:25 pm
I’m actually going to a happy hour today so I’ll drink one in DW’s honor!
Emily January 24, 2014, 3:40 pm
Happy DW Birthday, Lady bird! Good work!!
Addie Pray January 24, 2014, 3:41 pm
In honor of DW’s 3rd birthday I will…. rush to pick up Moose from doggie day care after work, rush home where it’s warm and NOT a million below zero like it is outside, and I will drink wine and watch Breaking Bad on Netflix. It’s the least I can do for Dear Wendy!
p.s. Those numbers are impressive! But less so when you figure half of those visits are from me refreshing the page every 2 seconds. Still, impressive.
p.p.s. Have I told you guys lately how much I love you? I do.
CatsMeow January 24, 2014, 4:22 pm
I LOVE YOU MORE!
Addie Pray January 24, 2014, 4:32 pm
No i love YOU more. Also brian. Where did new DW lover go? I mean, my friend’s lover.
the_optimist January 24, 2014, 3:54 pm
YAY Wendy! Thanks for all you do… I needed a drink anyway, but now I’ll turn that into three, as in one for every year…
Maybe four then. One for good luck.
starpattern January 24, 2014, 4:07 pm
Happy birthday, DW!
CatsMeow January 24, 2014, 4:13 pm
OH EM GEE. I’m having deja vu because I most likely mentioned this last year, too, but…
It’s also Dean Winchester’s birthday. Dean Winchester = DW.
Whaaaaat!
TECH January 24, 2014, 4:22 pm
Congratulations, Wendy. This is a big accomplishment. It takes a LOT of work to build a website from scratch into a community that has helped countless people.
GabbyCat January 24, 2014, 4:22 pm
Happy blog birthday, Wendy! And congratulations on what a great job you’ve done with it in three years. Those numbers look impressive!
lets_be_honest January 24, 2014, 4:24 pm
Thank you for everything you do Wendy!
eljay January 24, 2014, 4:27 pm
HAPPY BIRFDAY DEAR WENDY!!! I’ve been a fan since TF & couldn’t imagine my world without you in it. Thank you so much for everything you do. We all heart you so much!
Dear Wendy January 24, 2014, 4:37 pm
Thanks so much, you guys! I’m going to order dinner to celebrate. What should I get? I’ve narrowed it down to:
Pizza
Dominican/ Puerto Rican
Sushi
I think I’m gonna get some ice cream too. Tomorrow I am making curry chicken if that helps you help me make a choice.
Christy January 24, 2014, 4:55 pm
Sushi! The curry chicken feels like it would be similar to the Dominican/Puerto Rican in that they’re likely both one big dish of many flavors together, whereas sushi is many discrete flavors.
call-me-hobo January 24, 2014, 4:59 pm
Definitely sushi. I feel like bubbly and pizza wouldn’t have the same celebratory feel as champagne and sushi.
GatorGirl January 24, 2014, 5:00 pm
Pizza! I’m dying for some good pizza. It’s total crap down here.
Addie Pray January 24, 2014, 5:13 pm
Pizza! My deep thought about sushi is it’s best at the restaurant. Whenever I get it to go I’m always disappointed. I think b/c it loses the presentation – the rolls look so sad and less impressive when they’re squished in the box. You know what I mean?
Dear Wendy January 24, 2014, 5:16 pm
Sushi, it is!
veritek33 January 24, 2014, 5:47 pm
I was gonna vote sushi, but I was late to the party. Glad you picked it, and happy birthday!
Get a really good roll, btw, because I’m craving sushi and can live vicariously through you!
Addie Pray January 24, 2014, 5:50 pm
Addie Pray feels rejected.
d2 January 24, 2014, 9:44 pm
I ate pizza for you. I did, I did!
Za and Grog, as my friends used to say in college (pizza and alcohol/beer).
Addie Pray January 24, 2014, 9:52 pm
Aw thanks d2!
AKchic January 24, 2014, 5:54 pm
Three huzzahs for Dear Wendy’s 3rd birthday!
Fabelle January 24, 2014, 5:58 pm
Happy birthday, Dear Wendy!! And thank you, actual Wendy, for everything you do to keep this site running <3 <3 <3 Love love love
CatsMeow January 24, 2014, 6:16 pm
WELL, ya talked me into it. I’ll drink to DW tonight!
rachel January 24, 2014, 7:44 pm
Yay, Happy birthday Dear Wendy! It’s awesome how far you’ve come Wendy, and it’s exciting to be a part of it all.
lemongrass January 24, 2014, 9:28 pm
Happy birthday! You done good, Wendy.
d2 January 24, 2014, 10:08 pm
Thanks for creating such a wonderful place to visit.
Cassie B January 24, 2014, 10:40 pm
Whoo hoo! Three years of Facepalm Fridays! No wonder my head hurts.
Happy 3rd birthday, Dear Wendy! And thanks actual Wendy for all your hard work and thoughtful advice.
Christy January 24, 2014, 11:33 pm
Yes, happy anniversary, Wendy. I seriously spend more time on DW than I do on any other site. Chrome even tells me – you’re my #1 visited site. This is such a great community that you’ve created, Wendy. I’ve made real-life, in-person friends here, and real-life, you-live-far-away-but-we-email friends too. I’m so grateful this site exists, and I can’t believe it’s already been three years!
fast eddie January 25, 2014, 9:16 am
Fore the site, all the commenters, Ms Atterberry and her support staff (Drew, Jackson and the cats), this Buds for you. 🙂
ricky January 25, 2014, 9:19 pm
Belated happy birthday, Dear Wendy.
I even remember the date I started coming to this website. It was March 15, 2011. I was reading about the catastrophe that happened in Japan just a few days ago and I stumbled upon a letter sent to DW about a woman writing about her boyfriend’s lack of compassion while some of her relatives remains missing there. It started then and ever since I have been reading it almost every day.
MsMisery January 27, 2014, 1:03 pm
Yaay! I followed you over from The Frisky and never looked back 😉