It feels like ages since I have written anything about blogging, balancing life while blogging, having a kid and blogging, what I'm doing, wearing, eating, blah blah blah... but the truth is (well, at least for me) once you have kid it's most likely that your blog will transition into a mommy-blog. I think there are a few blogs I've read who have been able to keep their personal blog about themselves but I think that kind of focus is extremely difficult to come by. My blog has become Lo's blog. She inhabits every post in some way or another, and while I'm not upset by that, it makes it hard to nail down my identity in this place.
It's also extremely difficult to keep up with reading, commenting, connecting, networking, creating things when you have a baby. I'm not complaining. Just sort of putting words on the page. All of my thoughts have been cooped up for a spell and I'm antsy to get them out and breathe a sigh of relief. Thank goodness for the blog-therapist.
Recently Chauncey and I were talking about success. Mostly it was about thinking of a person and their life's accomplishments and who we look up to. Maybe even someone we'd like to follow in their footsteps but we couldn't think of anyone. Later Chauncey mentioned he really admired Mr Rogers because of how he helped so many kids on his TV show but I still came up dry with ideas. Regardless of not having a "role model" I know success truly lies in happiness, well, for me anyways. I know you can't have "happy" without "sad" and that is fine. Emotions can't truly be experienced if you don't have the highs and lows. This life I have fallen into has taken me gracefully into a new level of happiness. My husband, daughter, home, pets, job, and family. Those things bring me so much happiness each day and I am so blessed in this life.
My point is that even though sometimes I feel like my true identity is muffled among the thousands of perfectly pointed blogs there never comes a time that I am unhappy about it. My identity (for today) is stolen away from me by the sleeping baby in the next room, my identity is only completed with the support and love from my husband and while those things don't leave me any room for myself I am truly happy. So, even though my blog doesn't focus (usually) on me I am fine transitioning into a mommy-blog. I am sure one day in the future I will regain the ability to have a conversation without mentioning my daughter but for now I am so happy that she hijacked my life. Some people wouldn't place such happiness with people but I couldn't think of a happier life.
I don't think you be bothered about this at all, in fact, having read your past blogs, this is the happiest I've ever seen you and that makes me happy too :)
ReplyDeleteI get a sense of peacefulness from this post. It's nice to be able to adapt and grow with your blog.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about happiness, in that I draw a large portion of my contentment from social interactions, whether it's with the people I love or even clients/customers/coworkers. Connection is so important.
You know, I feel like as long as you're true to what's going on in your life, then you have your "voice". Your readers may grow with you, or they may grow apart from you and you'll gain new followers. What it ultimately boils down to is what you're comfortable with sharing, and what your life is about. It's your blog, and I (for one) love it. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I can relate! But now that my youngest is 1 1/2, and I'm more than pretty sure we are finished having kids, I feel like I am starting to revisit my identity. It is so hard at first, so all-consuming, but you are in there, growing, changing. I love the phrase "she hijacked my life..."! I couldn't have put it better, and I share in your happiness. I love your blog, by the way!
ReplyDeleteIt's such a healthy and normal feeling to marvel at how your life is completely transformed by becoming a mother. That first year is intense, it's nearly impossible to do or think about anything else... and then slowly you do start to feel some more of your independent self return- some! And then you have another kid, rinse and repeat :) Your blog is great, a reflection of you, whoever that might be today.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very nice post - thanks for the transparent glimpse into such a major life transition (through the small lens of blogging at least).
ReplyDeleteYour daughter is beautiful and this is such a lovely and hopeful time of life. I hope you thoroughly enjoy the process of changing and morphing and strengthening into a new/deeper individual because of your ties to her. And I'm sure that will emerge in your writing as you go along... :)
What a great post, thanks so much for sending me this way. It is hard to focus on much else once you have a little one...I am just managing to find snippets of time to do little things from my 'old' life but on the whole it's all about the little madam and I wouldn't have it any other way. Your blog is a reflection of your life, and there are so many others out there in the same situation who find the dialogue of motherhood in the blogging world invaluable (I'm one of them!)
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