The Less You Write

Some of you may have been wondering where the heck I've been.  Let me assure you, I'm alive and well.

Since moving into our house in September, my blog writing has decreased significantly.  We decided that we wouldn't sign up for internet or cable for the time being in order to save some money and be able to do some much needed fixing to our home.  The only internet access I have at home is through my phone, which all bloggers know it is incredibly frustrating to write and read blogs from a phone.

My first month there I really tried to keep up.  I would write all the time on Word or TextEdit and then transfer my posts over to blogger when I'd get access at either my in-laws or work or even the park!  I would have 3 or 4 posts ready and scheduled a week in advance.  But even with doing that, my enthusiasm for blog writing started to fade.

As I was thinking about why, I finally realized... it's because I have been completely disconnected with my blogging community!  Sure, I could write posts and have them ready, but I couldn't keep up with the blogs I loved reading.  I couldn't interact with the ladies that have brought me encouragement and online friendship as easily.  I was isolated.

So I started writing less.  And the thing about that is, the less you write, the less you have to write about.  Writing is like a flurry.  The more you do it, the more easily it becomes and the more ideas you have and the quicker you get it out.  It's like it just spills out of you.  But likewise, the less you write, the harder it becomes, the slower it is to come out.  It feels like molasses.

I have been warned by some people that if I don't keep up with it, I will lose the followers I have acquired so far... and this is true.  In the last month I have lost 2 followers... I'm not in the 100's anymore.  But that's ok.

On the other hand, I have had a few blog ladies contact me through twitter, facebook or email and ask me where I've been or how I've been doing.  That has been amazing!  And I want to say Thank You to those people... your kindness and friendship means a lot!

I miss writing, but I now realize that I got caught up in the blog competition.  In my hiatus, I've been able to reevaluate why I even do this in the first place.  It's my outlet and my way of documenting my family's stories.  While doing giveaways and link ups are fun, that isn't necessarily the purpose of my blog.

And I'm done spending hours a week reading other people's blogs and writing thoughtful comments when they are never returned.  Basically, I'm purging.  The truth is, I shouldn't care about my follower number.  I'm not trying to make a living doing this.  I don't care to be the #1 mommy blogger.  I can't have a $1,000 giveaway.  I can't make my house Pinterest worthy.  I can't measure up to the competition... so I'm backing out.

If you still want to follow me along my journey, please stay a while.  I hope to keep it real, keep it true to myself and keep it humble.  I would love to share my story with you and I hope we are able to learn from each other.  Because, really... that's what it's about.