Could You Be A Blogger?

April 16, 2012

While 700+ Blissdom attendees are still coming down from such a high HIGH, there are quite a few of them that are sitting down at their computers and starting their very first blogs. Not everyone that attends these conferences are actual bloggers. Some are thinking about it. Some are writers that want to use social media to sell their books. Some are crafters that are looking to expand. Some are going through life changes and want to do something new.

Blogging brings all kinds of people together to a common medium and gives them all a space and a platform to display their voices. Could you be one of those people? Do you have a voice that needs to be heard? I am always encouraging the people around me to start blogging, especially women. Blogging is such a wonderful outlet for creativity and frustrations but also a wonderful way of finding people that share your interest. It could even lead you to the interest that is or is to become your passion. I am an avid book reader but there aren’t many in my closest groups of friends that read or strive to carve out the time to read. The same goes for my love of technology. I can’t exactly discuss rooting an android device with the people around me. That conversation would be lost on them. But with my blogging and other online mediums, I can find just the crowd that will understand the projects and gadgets and interests that are floating around in my life.

The first thing I typically hear from people when I encourage them to blog is “I don’t know what I would write about”. There are three people in particular that I’m trying to encourage. For the sake of this conversation, I will call them D, K and R. They may not think they have anything to share but I learn so much from them each time I’m around them.

D is a stay at home mom that home schools her children. She is a beautiful Christian woman that counsels and teaches and has so much to share about religion, family, homeschooling, container gardening, vegan cooking and so many other things. The dinners I share with her family are fascinating and I always walk away with so much inspiration if nothing else. I think that is worth writing about and sharing.

K is a stay at home mom who prior to staying home specialized in working with kids with disabilities. She is such a fun and interesting mom and she is often the person that is learning right along with me when I am looking to learn something new. I love people like her because they never stop learning. Not only could she share her love for children and working with kids with disabilities, she could also teach you how to have the best kids playroom ever, how to start a small garden at home, how to entertain and how never to be afraid of learning something new.

R is a beautiful young girl with a quiet spirit that just draws you in. She is a young professional that is about to set off on the greatest adventure. I won’t speak much about it but meeting her and hearing her know exactly what she wanted out of life and marriage influenced me greatly. She is young but she has so much to share and I think she minimizes the impact she could have on the world. I met her at a time when I was struggling with the idea of being a wife and being able to talk with her about it brought clarity and comfort to my situation. She is a budding photographer and I can’t wait to see the shots she takes as she treks around the world learning about her heritage.

These are just three of the women that inspire my life everyday. They don’t think they have much to share but I see a multitude of possibilities in each of them. They fuel me to keep going if for no other reason than to find others that need to have their voices heard. Are you one of them? Do you know people in your life that could be sharing so much? Make sure you tell them how much value you get from them and maybe they’ll be encouraged to share that value with the rest of us.

Lorax and Trufella

April 14, 2012

A few weeks ago, my nephew came to town. I wish I could say he came to visit me, but I was just an unneeded bonus. He actually came to visit the children of friends of mine. It’s amazing how little ones bond with each other. If you want to see what childhood depression looks like, separate a four year old from a friend that he knows he won’t see for a few months, if not longer. It was heartbreaking to tell him it was time to go after visiting with them and playing hours of dress up (spiderman is my nephew). I got over it later when I found out he didn’t want me to go to the movies with him and his friends. I was the one that set up this little long distance play date, but that was lost on the young one.

The main event of their multi-day play date was catching a marathon showing of Dr. Suess’ The Lorax. I read the book to my nephew the night before to try to get him interested. He barely made it through it but after seeing the movie, I hear the book is keeping his attention a little better.

He likes it so much now that my sister called to inform me that my nephew has requested a yellow sweater knit from trufella trees.

Thanks, Dr. Suess!