Blogging Relationships

I forget that I have more than a handful of readers sometimes. I know my mom and Mike's mom read my blog, but other than a few friends who comment all the time, I tend to forget that anyone else is out there! (no offense...)

So when I'm writing my posts, sometimes I keep the above "audience" in mind. The light bulb moments that I have in parenting are meant to be shared with 2 or 3 select friends who have my same parenting style and experience the same struggles I deal with. Stories that I would likely share through email or call them to tell them about. The pictures of the kids and the antics they're up to are mostly for my own memories and for the grandparents to see. (I will admit that sometimes they're to amuse the rest of you, too) But the rest of the time, I just have something to say and need an outlet. Other than poor Mike, who has gotten the brundt of my chattiness over the years. (I wonder if he thinks I talk less since starting to blog...doubt it.)

I was discussing this with my hair stylist yesterday and she asked, "Since you post most of your thoughts, do you still have things to talk about when you see people?" Honestly, I do a lot more listening nowadays! I saw a friend a few months ago and when I asked how she was doing, her response was, "I'm so sick!" to which I replied, "Oh man, my family has been really sick, too. It's been horrible!" She said, "I read your blog...it sounds like a mess!" (I didn't even realize she read my blog) At that point, I didn't need to go through the drama we'd been dealing with. She knew it all. So I asked more about what was going on with her family, since I didn't have any more to contribute about the germs spreading around during that time. It could have been awkward that what I was about to say was stopped dead in it's tracks, but it was actually quite refreshing to feel that she knew what was going on with me and I could give her the floor to talk. (you know...since I have a habit of stealing it for myself...the "floor," I mean)

I've also been getting a lot of people commenting lately that they feel like they talk to me all the time because they read my blog. Now that, I can totally understand. There are a few people out there in blogland that I will never meet, yet from reading their posts, I know so much about their kids' personalities, their thoughts and opinions and their lives in general. I find so many stay at home, Christian mom bloggers out there and love getting ideas and inspiration from them. And reading the blogs of friends who I don't get to see often makes me feel closer to them, too. In fact, I'm thrilled beyond words that my matron of honor is starting a blog! She has more kids than anyone I know (5 of her own and 5 by marriage) and we just don't talk as much as I'd like. Come to find out, she's been reading my blog and knows all about what's going on with me, but I have no insight into her world at all. So I'm waiting on pins and needles to hear about the daily happenings with her. (and wondering when she will have time to sit down and type up a post!!!)

I brought a new mom a meal last week and when I was introduced to her husband, he looked very familiar to me because I'd seen pictures of their family on her blog. Yet he didn't know me at all. And yesterday when we had a family photo shoot (more on that soon) my friend Shelly mentioned that she felt like she knows my kids really well from my posts, yet she'd never met them. What other forum would make that possible? I think it's the same sort of familiarity that we get with actors or reality tv participants.

I even went to Bunco last week and was a little caught off guard when several (like 6 or 8) people approached me one after another, saying, "I love your front room!" Again, because none of them comment (no guilt, girls) I tend to forget that they're readers. And another friend said the same thing about my front room when I ran into to her at the gym yesterday. It's so fun for me to have people know what's going on with me without me telling them directly. Is that weird?

I'm a pretty transparent person. I do have a mental policy not to say anything that would embarrass my husband or kids on my posts, but other than that, I lay it all out there. I'm also intentional about not giving out too, too much identifiable information (to a degree) so stalkers couldn't find us. Not that I expect to have blog-stalkers, but you never know in this world! I mean sure, someone could go through and read every single post and find out that we live in Phoenix and that my husband works close to our home, things like that, but Phoenix is huge. And I'm careful not to specify which area we live in, what church we attend, where Ryan goes to school, things like that. I'm cautious, but choose not to be a completely anonymous blogger.

Something else I'm aware of (though you wouldn't know it sometimes) is writing super-long posts and posting too often. I get a little self-conscious when I see that I've done one of those things. I'll try to skip a few days of posting to give everyone a break. But what's funny, is that people will mention that they wish I would blog daily or razz me for not breaking up a "brain dump" into several posts. So I guess I would rather post a longer post (ahem...Tuesday!) instead of many shorter posts on the same day. I also like writing only one post a day for some reason. There's a sense of order to it in my head. I also like breaking up all of the word-i-ness with pictures, if possible. (sorry, no pictures this time)

What's my point? I don't know. These are just things that come up when discussing my blog with others and I guess I find them interesting. I know someone who's very proud that she hasn't "followed the crowd" by starting a blog, but to me, it's not about doing the "in" thing...it's really about having someplace to put my thoughts and to journal about my life. That's why I scrapbook. Yet, if my house were to burn down, my scrapbooks would be dust (the thought of all of that wasted time makes me shudder), but I will always have this little website to safely store my memories.

So THANK YOU for being a part of my blog and reading what's in my head. Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself, so feel free to comment anytime. I look forward to comments.