Three years ago this week this blog began (along with my pregnancy). A little more than two years ago I made it public. At first it was a private, infrequently-updated, boring-ass, pregnancy journal. Then a repository of milk pumping info and angst. Now it’s, uh, well, just a general, all-purpose blog, I guess.
Why do I do it? I’m not sure why I started–I wasn’t even reading blogs at the time besides a few infertility ones–but I’ve found it’s good for me in a few ways:
a) writing forces me to think through my thoughts, assumptions, feelings, experiences, leading to all kinds of discoveries–it’s like free therapy!
b) the community; the more people I have contact with, the better I fare; I don’t (just) mean the comments, but also reading others’ blogs. I have loved getting to know people through blogging.
c) I get to tell family members that, indeed, I am writing, when they bug me to write
d) I take note of facets of Little Girl that otherwise might be lost as she changes
I could do most of this without an actual blog–just with a journal–but since, until blogging, I never did anything like that, apparently I couldn’t just get these effects from journaling. Maybe it’s a sign of the times, the desire for an audience to produce, or maybe it’s just easier to get the fix of readership through blogging than through prior media, and all the diarists of old would have tried this if they could. I don’t know. But I’m extremely grateful to have this blog as part of my life, and it would literally not exist if it were not for my readers. So thank you!
(P.S.: National Delurking Week has historically been a bust for me, but if you’d like to say hi, I’d be delighted. Seriously delighted. If you don’t have a blog you don’t know how it is, but it’s extremely gratifying to have a give-and-take with readers. I know you are out there! I have statistics!)
7 January 2009 at 12:57 am
I’m very glad that you’re still writing here, and grateful that you put some energy into connecting, responding to comments, etc. I’ve had fun getting to know you. (And I’m surprised to hear that your blog was pretty newly public when I started reading … at the time it seemed like it had been here forever!)
7 January 2009 at 6:37 am
I blog to have a community and a way of journaling. I like the fact that I document what is happening in our life so that one day I can look back-which I do from time to time-I also love the women that I have met through blogging. Blogging also allowed me to know that I am never alone in my feelings,
I am glad you post and blog. I am sure your little girl will enjoy reading about her funny things that she does as well.
7 January 2009 at 7:15 am
I think you’ve articulating captured most of the reasons that I blog although I don’t know that I’d have been able to articulate it as well. I feel like I just have a mish-mash much of the time, but I also feel like I NEED that to work through some of what I’m feeling.
And I’ve loved discovering others out there who are blogging. Sometimes I like to hear from those who have similar opinions to my own and other times I really like to read and hear from other perspectives (albeit in the form of respectful dialogue of course). I’ll also add, that being in Japan now, it has given me a sense of place that transcends my physical location. I think when you make it to Sweden, you may find your blog fulfills yet another purpose.
7 January 2009 at 8:12 am
If you really want people to delurk, it might help if you flashed them.
Maybe next year we’ll do a collective flash and see if that brings them out of the woodwork. But I have to agree, each year less and less lurking. That or I suck so badly that there’s less and less readers, which actually is probably true in my case.
7 January 2009 at 9:13 am
Three years! AWESOME! I have been blogging for two years, and I love it too. Getting comments is always fun. I love hearing from my readers.
7 January 2009 at 9:47 am
HI! So glad that we have connected recently. Looking forward to reading more and getting to know you better.
7 January 2009 at 10:34 am
I’m with DD that my 3-year-old blog is probably sucking more and more, thereby leaving me with fewer lurkers. Two years ago, I had 33 comments on my National Delurking Week post. Last year I forgot to do it. This year? I haven’t counted, but I think there are around 12. Alas.
I’m glad you’re blogging and enjoy reading it!
7 January 2009 at 12:37 pm
H! Not that I am a lurker *l*. I love blogging. I love the community. I love being able to look inside other people’s heads. It’s given me a lot of perspective on life.
7 January 2009 at 12:43 pm
i have been reading you forever.. since August bumblebees lol….. I feel like you are a friend… we could sit down and have coffee and you would actually know me.. does that make sense?
7 January 2009 at 1:35 pm
So not delurking, but wanted to say hi anyway. I think I was one of the first people who found you when you went public, and of course, I’ve been reading ever since.
And I totally agree. I would be a terrible baby book keeper, but I do great at writing it on the blog.
7 January 2009 at 3:21 pm
Hello! I’m a lousy journal writer and blogger I’m afraid but committed reader/commenter.
7 January 2009 at 5:30 pm
Not a lurker, but hi anyway!
I also love the community aspect of blogging. It’s heartening when I read about people going through similar things, but I also like hearing different perspectives. You have a fantastic voice and I’m glad you’re here!
7 January 2009 at 8:36 pm
Glad you’re still blogging!
8 January 2009 at 10:02 am
I always figured it was a sort of exhibitionist aspect of me coming out in writing. I do know I love the attention. Along with that though, I love reading OTHER blogs when I hit something in my life that I’d like to know how others handled it. That could be because we have a pathetically narrow sense of ‘neighbors’ these days compared with days gone by. Or – I guess – we have a very worldly view of neighbors only we never see each other in person.
It is fun to read your blog so you must be doing something right.
8 January 2009 at 2:05 pm
I completely understand what you get out of blogging-that’s how I feel too. It’s hard to believe I’ve been following your blog for nearly two years. I’ve enjoyed the glimpse into your world and watching Little Girl grow up!
9 January 2009 at 4:12 pm
not a lurker, but hi!