This has been sitting in my queue for a while and it always feels silly to post it. Like I should just do it, not post about possibly doing it. But I am feeling like I need to make a transition and maybe I need to post this to do it?
I have been struggling so much with blogging...for what seems like months now.
I used to love the idea that blogging was the look into someone's world, someone's life. Someone that I may never have otherwise met. Someone whose home I may never have otherwise seen inside.
Through blogging I have met many wonderful friends, women who I never would have otherwise met. I read their blogs to keep up with what is going on in their lives.
I think Instagram has changed the game. We can now share what we are doing in real time. We no longer need to write the blog post and upload the edited photos.
But I miss the writing.
I originally started blogging because I like to write. I had always wanted to write a novel, but when my girls were young I could never follow a complete thought to fruition, never mind try to write a whole storyline. But I wanted writing exercise. I craved it. I needed it.
When we started seriously considering homeschooling, blogs written by real moms with real families who were really homeschooling were priceless and I wanted them to have something to link back to if I commented (so they would know I was not a creeper). I began to write about homeschooling and chronicling our homeschool journey and our family's life and realized that I enjoyed this kind of writing and I really don't have a desire to write a novel anymore. I would rather just write about my thoughts and feelings, what we are doing, what is going on.
At times I felt pressure to define my blog and I could never do that. It's just whatever is on my mind at the time. I really wish that I had just used my name as the url so it could change with me and just be my thoughts...but now there are so many outside links that I don't know if that is a wise move.
Lately I have been feeling that if I share what we are doing on Instagram, what is there to share on the blog? I hardly even pick up my DSLR camera anymore. I've never really liked reading informational or inspirational blogs. I tried writing more about just homeschooling, but I only know what works for us or what we are interested in or what we are trying, I am BY NO MEANS an expert at homeschooling. But, I don't want to bombard the internet with irrelevant material.
But I miss writing.
I'm not really sure where to go from here.
I wish that I had used my name as my url from the beginning. That was something I didn't hear about until Allume last fall and now there are several outside links that tend to get a lot of traffic and I want people to find the information they are searching. But having my name as my url might allow for some freedom to just post about whatever...what's on my mind, what I am thinking about or feeling or what my girls are doing or what I love about being a mom or whatever. I am sort of feeling like that is the direction I am being pulled in right now...
I was talking about this with a friend of mine who is a professor of communications and she said that she missed when my blog was like sitting around my kitchen table just chatting about life. She said to just be myself and blog for me and my friends. And I think I will.
Writing is how I make sense of the world. I miss it and I feel a need to do it and put it out there. Maybe that will mean something to someone else, maybe it won't. Maybe it will help someone. Maybe it won't. Maybe it will just be for me and maybe some day my girls will look back at this blog (that's why I stayed with Blogger so it's here even if I stop paying for hosting) and think what a whacko their mom was....or, I can hope they will understand me better. If they care to. Which they probably won't.
I have been struggling so much with blogging...for what seems like months now.
I used to love the idea that blogging was the look into someone's world, someone's life. Someone that I may never have otherwise met. Someone whose home I may never have otherwise seen inside.
Through blogging I have met many wonderful friends, women who I never would have otherwise met. I read their blogs to keep up with what is going on in their lives.
I think Instagram has changed the game. We can now share what we are doing in real time. We no longer need to write the blog post and upload the edited photos.
But I miss the writing.
I originally started blogging because I like to write. I had always wanted to write a novel, but when my girls were young I could never follow a complete thought to fruition, never mind try to write a whole storyline. But I wanted writing exercise. I craved it. I needed it.
When we started seriously considering homeschooling, blogs written by real moms with real families who were really homeschooling were priceless and I wanted them to have something to link back to if I commented (so they would know I was not a creeper). I began to write about homeschooling and chronicling our homeschool journey and our family's life and realized that I enjoyed this kind of writing and I really don't have a desire to write a novel anymore. I would rather just write about my thoughts and feelings, what we are doing, what is going on.
At times I felt pressure to define my blog and I could never do that. It's just whatever is on my mind at the time. I really wish that I had just used my name as the url so it could change with me and just be my thoughts...but now there are so many outside links that I don't know if that is a wise move.
Lately I have been feeling that if I share what we are doing on Instagram, what is there to share on the blog? I hardly even pick up my DSLR camera anymore. I've never really liked reading informational or inspirational blogs. I tried writing more about just homeschooling, but I only know what works for us or what we are interested in or what we are trying, I am BY NO MEANS an expert at homeschooling. But, I don't want to bombard the internet with irrelevant material.
But I miss writing.
I'm not really sure where to go from here.
I wish that I had used my name as my url from the beginning. That was something I didn't hear about until Allume last fall and now there are several outside links that tend to get a lot of traffic and I want people to find the information they are searching. But having my name as my url might allow for some freedom to just post about whatever...what's on my mind, what I am thinking about or feeling or what my girls are doing or what I love about being a mom or whatever. I am sort of feeling like that is the direction I am being pulled in right now...
I was talking about this with a friend of mine who is a professor of communications and she said that she missed when my blog was like sitting around my kitchen table just chatting about life. She said to just be myself and blog for me and my friends. And I think I will.
Writing is how I make sense of the world. I miss it and I feel a need to do it and put it out there. Maybe that will mean something to someone else, maybe it won't. Maybe it will help someone. Maybe it won't. Maybe it will just be for me and maybe some day my girls will look back at this blog (that's why I stayed with Blogger so it's here even if I stop paying for hosting) and think what a whacko their mom was....or, I can hope they will understand me better. If they care to. Which they probably won't.
