This is the second post in a series of five thanking mom bloggers who've been meaningful to me, part of the P&G Thank You, Mom program. Gracias again to The Motherhood for inviting me to participate!
Before I started this blog, I'd thought about doing it for a long time. I was paralyzed, for all sorts of reasons. I didn't know how to start a blog. I didn't know if I should use the kids' names. I didn't know what I'd say in my first post—it felt so monumental. It was going to live on in cyberspace eternity! OMG!
This was back in 2008, when I wasn't reading very many blogs. So I started to. One Saturday morning in August, I woke up at 4:00 a.m. for some reason and hit my computer, determined to make good use of the found time and start the blog. I stumbled across Cerebral Palsy Baby. Shannon also has a child, a little girl, with cerebral palsy, and I admired her honesty and can-doism. I e-mailed her that morning, asked for advice about starting a blog, and admitted I was afraid crazy people would find us and come to our house.
Shannon e-mailed me back a couple of days later. She wrote, "It is sooooo hard putting yourself out there to the public that you can't control but I either had to pick to really really edit ourselves or to just semi-edit ourselves. I know people that use fake names, etc. etc. and I simply could never remember to do that. I had to go full force or none at all." She told me to let her know when I got my blog up and running.
I wasn't done with my hand-wringing just yet. I wrote back and said I didn't know if I'd be able to find the time. She responded, "I don't think you need to worry about being SUPER consistent, just make a goal to yourself to blog once a week or twice a month. I know plenty of people who can't blog constantly and their blogs still enjoy a large readership. I think you just have to jump in and see if it is something you enjoy and want to keep up."
OK. Out of excuses. When I got the blog going at the end of October, she was the first person I e-mailed. Subject line: "I finally did it!!!!!!!"
We've kept in touch over the years. Shannon's little girl is doing really well, and she recently had a third child. I'm living vicariously through her, for now!
I started this blog, which has been incredibly cathartic for me in so many ways, thanks to the kindness of a fellow mom in cyberspace. And for that, Shannon, I am eternally grateful.
This was back in 2008, when I wasn't reading very many blogs. So I started to. One Saturday morning in August, I woke up at 4:00 a.m. for some reason and hit my computer, determined to make good use of the found time and start the blog. I stumbled across Cerebral Palsy Baby. Shannon also has a child, a little girl, with cerebral palsy, and I admired her honesty and can-doism. I e-mailed her that morning, asked for advice about starting a blog, and admitted I was afraid crazy people would find us and come to our house.
Shannon e-mailed me back a couple of days later. She wrote, "It is sooooo hard putting yourself out there to the public that you can't control but I either had to pick to really really edit ourselves or to just semi-edit ourselves. I know people that use fake names, etc. etc. and I simply could never remember to do that. I had to go full force or none at all." She told me to let her know when I got my blog up and running.
I wasn't done with my hand-wringing just yet. I wrote back and said I didn't know if I'd be able to find the time. She responded, "I don't think you need to worry about being SUPER consistent, just make a goal to yourself to blog once a week or twice a month. I know plenty of people who can't blog constantly and their blogs still enjoy a large readership. I think you just have to jump in and see if it is something you enjoy and want to keep up."
OK. Out of excuses. When I got the blog going at the end of October, she was the first person I e-mailed. Subject line: "I finally did it!!!!!!!"
We've kept in touch over the years. Shannon's little girl is doing really well, and she recently had a third child. I'm living vicariously through her, for now!
I started this blog, which has been incredibly cathartic for me in so many ways, thanks to the kindness of a fellow mom in cyberspace. And for that, Shannon, I am eternally grateful.
