Saturday, October 24, 2009

Lewis Land is ONE!

A year ago today, I began blogging. I had already been pretty diligent about uploading pictures to Fotki and Shutterfly even before Gianna was born, but I liked the idea of documenting this special time in our lives with photos and journaling.

All of my husband's family (and some of mine) lives far away and I figured this would be a great way to update them on our growing little family. And even for local friends and family, I thought it was a good way to let people know what was happening without having to stuff everyone's inbox with unsolicited photos and stories of our child.

What I didn't expect was that family and friends were always asking me, "So, what's Gianna doing now? We want to see pictures and videos."

"Umm.....have you checked the blog lately?" would be my reply.

"Oh, I don't have time for all that." or "No, I keep forgetting." or "Can't you just email them to me or put them on a disc?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Well, once my frustration turned into irritation - I had to make a conscious decision to 1) get over myself, 2) let it go, and 3) change my expectations of blogging.

I realized that I am blogging for myself. Pure and simple. I would do it if no one else read it. I like writing and I like taking pictures and I'm pretty fond of my little girl. I am the storyteller of the family. I know how busy life gets and I know that we don't always remember the things we want to remember.....no matter how hard we try. I worked as a director for an Alzheimer Unit in an Assisted Living Facility for a year before we got married. Sometimes remembering is not in our control. If I ever can't recount the stories of our little family - I still want them to be told.

Blogging has caused me to slow down a little and look at life more intently. It has caused me to see the extraordinary in the midst of the seemingly ordinary. My baby dumping out all my buttons and laughing hysterically is small, but I don't want to forget it. I don't want to forget the sound of her belly laugh while throwing buttons everywhere. The small moments are as priceless and important as the grand ones.

As puzzled as I've been with friends and family who haven't kept up with my blog, I have been as equally as amazed by the acquaintances and strangers who have. I've had people come up to me and introduce themselves to me - telling me how they know our story and love our pictures and blog. That just blows me away. And last week, I was blog-hopping and peeking into a blog of someone in the Northwest and almost fell out of my chair when I saw my own blog in their blogroll. A perfect stranger. (A teeny-tiny bit on the creepy side - but overall, pretty amazing.)

And yes, I've struggled with balance and blogging. You may remember this little cartoon I posted quite a while ago. Every now and then I have to keep myself in check and remind myself that blogging is here to serve me -- I am not here to serve IT.

I know many things I post will be of no interest to anyone else. I know that I take WAY more pictures than necessary. I know that every now and then I lose my focus and purpose in blogging. I know that occasionally I try a little too hard to word things in such a way as to not step on anyone else's toes. But, I have to keep reminding myself that this is for me and my little family of three. I have to remind myself that looking at other people's blog is not the whole of their reality just as it isn't the whole of mine. I have to remind myself that if I compare my blogs to others' or worse, myself to others - I am completely cheating myself. It's easy to be overwhelmed by what other's are doing and accomplishing and creating. It's awesome to inspired --- just not fall into the lure of envy. I have to be the woman, the wife and the mother that God is calling ME to be....not the one that is portrayed in someone else's blog.

Once again, I've climbed up on a soap box. Didn't quite plan that one.....but hey, it's my blog, right? :)I'd like to wish Lewis Land, the Blog, a very happy first birthday. :)

In honor of my blogaversary, I thought I'd include a few little t-shirt ideas I happened across.

I'm so tempted to make this next one for Gianna.

For all those people - friends and strangers - who stop by occasionally - thank you. For those people who take time to comment on posts or jot me an email - I truly appreciate that. Some days/weeks I feel like I'm the only one who reads my blog (which is totally okay) - and then a sweet little comment appears that gives me the little boost I need to keep it up. Much obliged!

3 comments:

  1. Happy Blogaversary! I agree, it's a great outlet, even if it just makes us happy! Keep on keepin' on! I love reading your family's adventures!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy Anniversary! Have the same issue with my family. I started blogging so all the updates and photos they wanted were all in one place and I didn't have to send 100 different things out. Many still don't read it, but I let them know when I update it. My MIL asked recently if I have any photos online where she can order them. I told her all my photos were on my blog. I don't have time to make discs for everyone with the certain pictures they want, nor can I email everyone everytime I take a photos of my kids with them.
    I am kind about it, but just like blogging is for me, mostly, I have decided that I can no longer have my life and schedule centered on doing all these things for 3 sets of families (over 26 people) - and that I have made the choice to do my updating this way and this is where they can get all the info and pics. Unless it's a birthday or Christmas, I most likely will not be personalizing any updates/photos. I like my extra time to enjoy my children, husband and our time together.
    Anyhoo-good post. Happy Blogaversay and I loved the shirt ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maria,
    Happy Blogoversary! Now I'm curious as to when mine is - it should be coming up this month or next! I love your new background! I normally read your posts in a reader, but I popped over here to leave a comment and just saw it.

    I totally agree with the frustration of family & friends not reading your blog. I have the same trouble. I started my blog for my husband's family who lives in Kansas, and they do read it. But almost none of my other friends or family read my blog on a regular basis, if ever! I even included my blog address on my son's birthday invitation to remind everyone about it.

    I definitely write on my blog for me, first & foremost. But I do keep it updated for friends, too. So why don't they read it? Who knows? Oh well, it's there if they want to look at it. In the meantime, I have discovered that I really enjoy preserving our memories this way. I used to big into scrapbooking, but just lost interest in it after my daughter died, and now I don't have the time. So blogging has also been great therapy for me. The blogging community is fabulous & friendly, and I have made some great connections!

    I guess as long as we remember who we are really doing it for, any readers we pick up along the way are bonuses!

    ReplyDelete

It means a lot that you took the time to leave a message!

Related Posts with Thumbnails