Getting Back On The Horse

I have learned a few things about myself through all of this casual blogging. One of the things I have learned is the longer I wait to post, the harder it is to actually perform the task. I know it sounds crazy but I think about the blog non-stop. While brushing my teeth. While on my commute. In meetings. I say to myself, "Man, if only I had a little bit of time right now, I'd..." And then, as though a miracle, chunks of time fall in my lap and I either piddle them away or sit and stare at the computer screen and accomplish nothing.

I was recently asked if it is hard to "remember to post". Ah, good question, but it is quite the contrary. It is actually NO problem remembering. And believe it or not the problem isn't the ideas either. I have a small pad chock full of blog "to-do's". When we started, I would read about one of the typical problems with new bloggers; they run out of topics to blog about! Not here - no way! The problem is the exact opposite - I never know what to write about first.

So, I recently put some more thought into this and decided to clear my head (without any meditation or yoga!). I thought I'd scribble a list of the major priorities of this blog. What is our purpose? Why invest this time? Here is the result, almost in this order of priority:

1. Share family news, information & goings-on with family, either in-state or out of state - this free web log has proven to be much more effective at communicating that we can be with the phone calls never make, with the cell phone reception we never have



2. Document family activities for the 3 of us - Days and weekends seem to fade into each other all too easily and someday these tidbits will serve to be reminders of what we did "way back when life was simpler"



3. Provide Ellena with a glimpse into her past - Almost everything I do is geared toward future accessibility and this blog is no different. I envision our little sweetie digging deep into the archives one day. Imagine for a second if we could all do the same and read a few paragraphs our ancestors actually typed. What did they do? What vocabulary did they use? Where did they spend their free time? What moved them? Now imagine if you could read a web page about yourself, as captured by your family. A picture of you with cake on your face. A short video of your courageous efforts to ditch the training wheels. It gives me goosebumps. Friends of mine know my camera is "always rolling". Go ahead, sign the waiver.



4. Sharing with friends - Thoughts, web links, found photos - it is very enjoyable to share these things with friends. I have so many to add, but when it comes time to post, my priority usually resides with family matters. I often ponder starting another site, just for the purpose of moving ideas and taste-testing other web features.



5. Other (Hobby/Venting/Enjoyment) - There is actually a handful of other reasons, but the fact of the matter is posting is actually very calming for me to do. It has that feeling of creating something - sort of like when you walk into the room you recently painted, cross your arms, smile and nod as if to say "Yeah, I did that." No I haven't used this site to "vent" just yet (usually I calm down from what ever has heated me up WAY before logging in!), but perhaps someday I might. I have definitely thought of it!