the blog

i am feeling jittery as i write this. excited, inspired, full of energy. i can already tell that the thought of having to write everyday this month is going to be good. so good. or maybe it's just the caramel macchiato coursing through my veins.

either way. let's go with it.

today i wanted to talk about blogging.

i started this blog 8 years ago! 4/24/07  eight people read that post. so much has changed and so much has stayed the same. i started writing to tell my stories, our stories. i wanted to share photos and talk about how the kids are growing up.

i think one of the biggest misconceptions and one of the most frequent comments i get is how do you do it all. my answer is always, i don't. i blog because i have to, so it's a priority for me. i cook because  i love it. i do things for my family because that's my job. i volunteer because it makes me feel good. i run because i can.

i don't do anything perfectly. i have a partner that shares the same priorities and keeps me moving forward. i take what i do seriously and work hard everyday to do things right - and i make a lot of mistakes.

after 8 years of blogging i have 851 stories. thousands of photos i've shared. there are 75 drafts of posts sitting in a folder -may be time to revisit those. i have documented countless trips, meals, birthdays, holidays and thoughts in my head. i have made lots of goals and achieved some of them. it's awesome to look back at the list of posts and see that our life is there.

not everything is easy, not everything is good. we've actually had a lot of difficult moments over the last few years. and i choose to share some but not all of that. i realize that although i write first and foremost for me, i don't need everything about our lives out there. finding that balance is tough, it's personal.

i have shared my tips on blogging. i read LOTS of blogs to get inspiration and ideas. sometimes writing is easy and sometimes, well, i don't write at all.

after eight years my blog has grown. not a lot. i don't publicize it to get more readers. i probably could. but i'm ok with the people that consistently read my posts, it feels intimate. a bigger audience doesn't mean my writing is any more meaningful.

i'm working on consistency and content. the bloggers i follow are always blogging. not every post is a gem but i know that if i check in there will be something to read. it keeps me coming back.

i've thought about life without blogging. and i've gone a few weeks without updating. but there is this nagging feeling when i don't sit down and write. it bothers me. so that's when i know this is what i have to do.

thanks for reading along.