I started this blog exactly five years ago, as a tool to prompt me to write more. My peak in terms of frequency of posts happened a little over a year later. I think my favorite post of all time is this one, and the ones that have been read by the most people are my top ten lists about Quakers.
Five years ago, I had a preschooler and two elementary students. It’s shocking to me how different life is now. The time I once carved out with discipline to write the blog has evaporated into Facebook and oozed into a different family stage. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve blogged regularly, the gaps between the fits and starts getting longer and longer.
My friend Tanya recently evaluated her own blog, and started anew with purpose not long after. She also wrote on Facebook that she missed my blogging, something someone else said a few weeks ago.
So I’m going to try again. To blog more. Note the comparative “more”…not a definitive “weekly” or “daily”. Just more. I’m not sure all of what it will be; Facebook will likely remain the place for pictures and mundane blather about my daily life, so this will be something other than that. But I can tell you what the first couple ones will be.
I made a suggestion to my daughter for a class writing assignment. She didn’t like it, but unsurprisingly, I liked my own idea. The first one started writing itself in my mind when I couldn’t sleep the other night, and today I got a draft done. As much as I have loved the community and friendship that developed through this blog, when I think back to five years ago, it was for me. So, selfishly, I’m going to write about whatever I feel like writing. And if you don’t like it, you don’t have to read it. 🙂
Thanks, Gregg! The only reason I’ve been able to blog consistently is because I remind myself that it really is just for me. I love that other people read it but I would still do it if no one read it. Write on!!!
Yea!, I’ve been missing your posts too. I know what you mean about Facebook sucking the time. It’s interesting, but it seems like there’s a role for a forum that’s more public. I like Tanya’s reminder to write about things that are important to us rather than worry about a schedule or reputation.
I need to blog more regularly myself. An idea came to me as I was reading this post. I may turn off the capability to comment on my blog like some authors do and just let them comment on Facebook. The reason I say this is because if I blog so infrequently, some people may stop subscribing to the blog, but when I do blog, if I link to Facebook, when I post, people can read the posts and comment there since I spend more time there anyway. I also like Tanya’s approach above: blog for yourself, even if no one reads it.
That applause you’re hearing from somewhere in western Russia is me.