10.12.2011

Oh, Life

It's not all dirty feet and good books here in the foothills.

unexpected trips

Sometimes it's broken ladders and ambulance rides and staples in the back of the head (George is OK now).

It's projects that take longer and cost more than we expected.

IMG_1710

It's rain on our field trip day and a boy who is not kind and hospitable to house guests.

It's eating what we know we shouldn't because we're in a rush and paying the price later.

It's driving out of our way and wasting the better part of a day to save a hundred bucks.

habit, 11 october

It's a car that needs a part from the other side of the country.

It's a lifestyle change that has consumed all my time and energy, as well as pounds of fat I didn't even know I needed to shed.

It's a closet full of clothes that no longer fit and no desire (or time or money) to buy new clothes.

It's unexpected, like so many things in life. Oh, life.

But the show must go on, and the winners of the Alphabet Glue giveaway must be announced!

Rosesmama


Liz S.


Anna (annabeecroft)

Email me (if I haven't already emailed you) and Annie will forward you your copy of Alphabet Glue.

You can buy Alphabet Glue Volume 3 here. Thank you Annie for creating Alphabet Glue and generously giving away five copies!
. . . . . . . .

As for the mention in my last post regarding the death of blogs, I certainly did not intend to perpetuate any false rumors. Blogs are alive and well in my my opinion, though I have to admit I pay a lot less attention to them than I used to. It's not that I don't want to read the blogs I love and discover new ones to love, it's just that my focus is shifting more and more away from the computer.

Ironically, I feel the act of blogging and reading blogs has led me to this shift. Reading the words of like minded women and catching glimpses into the lives of other families has inspired so many changes in my own family. The last five years has been a journey towards simple living, being present in the moment, pursuing new hobbies and interests, cultivating our little homestead, and creating the life we desire. It can be difficult to be fully present in my own life while trying to keep up with the lives of others, even if they're on a similar journey.

Therefore, I read blogs in small doses. A few here and there, sometimes none at all for days on end, and occasionally I gorge until my eyes cross or my computer freezes. Reading your comments on my last post, I realized that I may be contributing to the potential decline in blogs (again, an unsubstantiated rumor) by altering my own blogging habits.

At times I have felt guilty and hypocritical for not reading blogs, but hoping my blog gets read. Yet I've come to the conclusion that I blog for myself, and while I thoroughly enjoy receiving visitors and comments, I maintain this space for me. It's like having a room that's all mine to fill up and use as I see fit; a real luxury when you share a small house with a growing family. Sometimes I even imagine this blog as a safety deposit box where I store my memories for a day when my internal memory fails me. Or perhaps a data mine for future historians and anthropologists who want to know what life was like for an average American family in the early 21st century, or even a future descendant who's researching our family's genealogy.

Not that any of this really matters, it's just a topic I find interesting. Maybe you do too, so feel free to share your thoughts on blogging. Your ideas are a welcome addition to this space. Together we keep this blog alive.

14 comments:

  1. Good for you! Good thoughts about blogging. It is always hard to find a balance, with anything we do.
    PS Thanks so much-I am an Alphabet Glue winner. I have won before, so I feel kind of guilty (but still so very excited)! I can't wait to get our copy!
    Thanks again,
    Vanessa

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  2. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on blogging.

    I, too, have found that my own blogging has led to a shift away from the online world. The more I discover and refine my own path on this journey towards a more intentional life, the more I find that time in front of the computer fails to line up with my vision for myself and my family.

    The blog guilt gets to me at times. I should be writing more, interacting more, reciprocating more, reading more, commenting more, more more more...but the truth is, I blog for myself. I love visitors and comments as much as the next blogger, but I do it because I am on this journey and I hope that sharing my thoughts will inspire others on their own journey. I do it because nothing refines my viewpoints more than writing them down and offering them to others to read. I do it because I love looking back and smiling over both the memories and the growth that I find throughout my blogged years.

    The truly ironic thing is that to be a "good blogger", with the frequent interaction and all the rest, would require me to let go of the very ideals that I have developed because of my writing. Simple, intentional living is difficult to balance with the requirements of being a "good blogger".

    So I continue to be a bad blogger. I comment when I have something of (potential) value to say, but otherwise skim through posts when I have a few free minutes. I gave in to Facebook but continue to disregard the "necessity" of joining Twitter to further interact with my readers. I frequently unsubscribe from blogs and rarely subscribe to new ones. I don't reply to every comment. My poor blog doesn't even have a central theme or style, jumping from serious parenting posts to lighthearted anecdotes to poetry to crafting to hot-button issues and everything in between. I break all the "good blogger" rules, but I think I'm okay with that.

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  3. I post and blog the same way you do. It don't really do it for the readers, but for myself, as a record of this time in our lives. Honestly, I enjoy the sporadic bloggers more. Reading and keeping up on the day to day can become un-fun. Getting little randsom snips of thoughts, wisdom, tricks that help, those things mean so much more than what happens day to day.

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  4. You're so dead-on with the blogging thing, Molly. I used to feel anxious if I didn't post, but not anymore. (Also, ain't life a kick in the pants?) xo

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  5. My thoughts are with George - that had to be scary. And your week sounds so familiar - in my dreams life would always be dirty feet and good books. Whether you blog each week or once a month, I always look forward to your posts. I see your post in my reader and smile before clicking.

    xoxo michele

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  6. I enjoyed your thought about writing and blogging. And oddly, I find it a comfort to read of the imperfections in others lives... it makes me feel we're all more connected. Glad George is OK. :)

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  7. Like you, I go for stretches of not reading blogs (which feels good) and then go on a blog binge and read until my eyes sting (which can also feel good).
    I blog to cultivate the practice of writing, and to create a historical record for my family.
    I teach writing classes and just told my students last night, "imagine if our parents or grandparents had kept blogs? Oh how I would have loved detailed records of my dad growing up in Brooklyn in the 1940's. Our stories are important. Especially the ones you think are ordinary."

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  8. As a late comer to blogging and one whose blog has a very small readership, I hate to think of blogging going "out of style." But, at the same time, I remind myself that I started the blog for myself and never told anyone about it for quite a few weeks. So, if my readership never grows, or if it dwindles away, I will be where I started -- blogging for myself. Not a bad thing at all. (But, I sure do love it when I get comments!)

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  9. You are my Yoda ;-). But much prettier and more energetic, of course. You just are so darn wise and so darn eloquent without saying too too much.

    My goodness, George, no more of that. Scary!

    Benen just told me to turn the computer off and read him Garfield, so bye for now...

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  10. well life goes on, I suppose...with ambulances (glad he's ok!) and car troubles and blogs or not blogs. I have always felt that juxtaposition, too--that blogs have inspired me to make changes in my life, and those changes include stepping away from the computer. ironic.

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  11. I don't blog and I feel the same way about cutting back computer time more as time goes by, but I do appreciate reading your insights here!

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  12. Oh yes, the blog trap. I love it, but I don't want to be a slave to it. Just this morning, before I got to your blog..I said that I was going to visit and comment on every blog that I follow. I actually said to myself that was my goal for today. Right after I thought that, I thought, wow, that is no kind of goal! I totally know what you mean. I have slowed way down on my posts as well. I would quit blogging if I didn't enjoy the few friendships I have made through blogging. I don't have any "like-minded" friends in my "actual" world. I mean, my friends are not opposite of me, they just aren't quite "like" me. I guess I turn to blogland because it is so refreshing and fun to know that there are people like me out there. I know it is hard to explain, but then, I don't have to explain it to you...you get it. Just to let you know, I really, really like your blog. I am always happy to see that you have a new post. I don't hold it against you if you are absent for a couple weeks at a time! LOL! I am always interested to see what you are doing and I wish you lived in my neck of the woods so I could come and visit!

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  14. A newbie to your blog (here through pinterest...isn't that interesting that this is connecting us bloggers again?). I've loved during my blog reading time (4:22 a.m. in the morning right now as I'm nursing a little) discovering yours. I, too, since blogging have severely cut back on my blog reading or participating. I find that my own blog takes up that allotted computer time I allow myself and the rest needs to be spent with family. I've even thought about quitting (have the whole post already written and saved in dashboard) but every time will get a timely email or comment that convinces me otherwise. God is funny that way. Ironically, since I blog less now (usually do several posts at once and sporadically space them out), my blog traffic has actually grown. But the most unexpected blessing of that is that 2 of the people now following me are relatives from states I can't visit. They are sharing in my kids and their memories via this medium in a way they otherwise wouldn't be able to. That has been a sweet, but unexpected, spot for me. It brings into focus the reason I blog as a digital form of scrapbooking/memory journal. I also love having a safe space for my photos and ideas/online bookmarks.

    I've limited my blogroll dramatically this past year. And, at first, I did feel a bit guilty. But know when I do find time to read a bit (usually Saturday morning on no chores day) it is always worth it because I know there will be something of substance there for me to chew on. That said, I have loved serendipitously discovering new blogs. Yours is like a breath of fresh air and soon will be added to my blogroll. I rarely "subscribe" to blogs because I love actually going to the blog I want to read and going over older posts and surrounding myself with the feel they were hoping to establish in their particular bloggy space. I leave facebook to my email account. I reply and share there but rarely visit. And, aside from Pinterest which makes a great place to visually bookmark, I rarely "get" the other online networks. I'm okay with liking to read longer draws of words and taking in breathtaking photos. That's me. My husband, he's the facebook king. He was made for short, funny, witty one-liners. That's just not me! I like that this online world is big enough for all of us to get what we need from it!

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