The Life Expectancy of a Blog Or The Phases of Jane’s Blog And Are You Rid Of Her Yet?

I tried and tried to find some good, hard data out there about the average life expectancy of a blog. I found guesses. I found loosely based fact. I found a lot of dead blogs.  But nothing definitive.

My very un-scientific conclusion is that many more blogs than you can imagine are dead within the first few months. The others kick the bucket at about 2 years.

The rest of us?

We’re hanging by a thread, baby!

I began this blog as an experiment. I had an idea for another blog (which I’m still toying with) but I wanted to see how this all worked. I wanted to get my feet wet, test the waters and then dive in.

I’ve been fully submerged for about a year now and the water is great! I don’t want to get out. The water is just fine.

But many don’t see it that way. 

In my year as a blogger I have deleted about a dozen favorites from my list because they no longer post. Lately, I have been surprised at how many of my favorite stops are: taking a break, re-thinking their blog, posting about their blog dissatisfaction, or taking an unexplained hiatus.

The ebb and flow of a blog. It would make an interesting study. And it got me thinking. How have I been riding this wave?

Phase I

In my first few months I gave myself a goal of posting six posts a week, Monday through Saturday. Some long. Some short. But new material was posted every day but Sunday.

At first this was very do-able. Hardly anyone was reading me. I was having a blast reading all of you. But then, I started to gain a true readership. Reading all of your posts and commenting in turn became difficult. I was able to keep up this pace for about 6 months. Then, something had to give.

Enter Phase II

So I wheedled it down to 5 posts a week. Monday through Friday. That left me the weekends to play catch-up and craft other posts. Phase II was short-lived, lasting about 2 months. I still couldn’t keep up. And I was realizing, the more readers I gained – the more reading I did. The more reading and commenting I did – the less living I was doing.

Blogging was becoming all important. When does the blogging stop and the living begin?

That’s a great question…When would I live, so that I could gather the material necessary to write? What about taking the kids to the pool or baking with my little Chopped Champions? Or my yoga? Or shopping trips with my daughter? Would my kids ever eat a home-cooked meal again? When would I make beds and scrub toilets?  And what about the dog puke, runny noses and sticky kitchen floor? (Wait a second. That’s my life? I might need to re-think this.)

Phase III

I am now in Phase III. I post Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. (I kind of like how that looks on my calendar, too, with a little line down the middle of un-highlighted Wednesdays. But, I’m weird that way.) On Wednesday and the weekends, I play catch up. Or not. I try to read all of you, but that’s impossible, too. I comment when I have something to contribute. I don’t pressure myself to fill up space on your blogs anymore. I’m finding a balance. My balance. And it feels so much better.

Phase IV and Beyond!

I have no plans of stopping. I enjoy this medium much too much. (Just ask my husband!) I love writing. I love crafting posts. I love reading. I love conversation and new ideas.

But most of all, I love all of you! My world is so much brighter, bigger and brilliant because I have met all of you. And for that, I am so very, very thankful!

Thank you, dear readers, for embracing me and enjoying what I write. Thank you for peeking in to see what I have to say. Thank you for your comments here and posts there, showing me new and different ways to see things.

Happy Anniversary to me! And to you, too! May we celebrate many more together!!!

 

Did you bring me a gift? Oh! You did! A blog post to share? Wow! That’s that perfect gift! Thank you so much! Just click below to link up! And thanks, again! You are just too kind!

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What I Want To Know Is….?

My first year Blogaversary is coming up. And I’m very excited.

I’ve been blogging for a full year now and I’ve learned so much: how to post a pic, how to post a video, how to comment with tact (most of the time), that I really have it in me to produce 3-6 blog posts a week.

Yet I still have so many questions: Where do I want to see my blog in 5 years? What did I expect to achieve in a year? How do I handle all the comments, criticism, etc.? What’s an RSS feed? Who has time for all the wonderful blogs out there?

And then I had a brilliant idea!

Help me celebrate this wonderful blogging community we’ve created together. Let’s share the wealth. Share the knowledge. Or just share a few laughs.

On Friday, August 13th, yours truly will have been blogging for exactly one year. On that day I challenge you to post on one of the following topics: greatest gift from blogging, greatest surprise from blogging, best blog tip you ever learned, your evolution as a blogger, how do you handle all the comments on your blog?, what is your version of successful blogging?, what blog posts to you hate to see?, your favorite post topics to read, any other topic that pertains to blogging that you can think of. (Hey, I’m that easy!)

We’ll all meet back here on Friday, August 13th and link and share tips, tricks or just titters. Your choice.

Help me celebrate my year of meeting all of you! Start crafting those fabulous posts you are all so capable of writing and let’s share! The more the merrier! (Yes, this means you, little Miss Lurker. C’mon. It’ll be fun!)

(And maybe by then I’ll learn how to link more efficiently. Ck? Sarah?)

Because Famiversaries Are An Easy !!!

I’ve made it no secret I was married before. With a beautiful daughter to show for it. I am currently in (and staying in) my second marriage and let me tell you, twice is a charm.

Planning our outdoor wedding, me and my daughter in sun dresses and sandals, the lake in the background, was a family affair. Our siblings and parents all contributed something to make the day special. It was homey. It was casual. It was a very special day.

But my daughter was crushed. She thought she, too, was going on the honeymoon. She was almost 6 yrs. old and I hadn’t considered that she wouldn’t understand that the honeymoon was only for the bride and groom. She cried the day she figured it out. And my soon-to-be-husband became her knight in shining armor that day.

“Mommy and I will go on the first honeymoon right after the wedding. And then the weekend we get back we are taking you on a second honeymoon!”

She was overjoyed. We let her pick the destination. Chattanooga.  (Remember, she was about 6)  She wanted to see Rock City. (She was obsessed with rocks) She wanted to go to the aquarium. We stayed at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Hotel. It was a fabulous long weekend with lots of laughter and fun.

The following year she was very excited about our (meaning all three of us) upcoming anniversary. “What are we going to do to celebrate?” she asked, eyes shining. So we did something special, just the three of us. We took a long weekend to the beach.

“We’ve now set a precedent,” I said to my husband.

He smiled, “I know. We have to. It’s our famiversary, after all.”

So, in July we celebrate our Famiversary. Sometimes with something big. Sometimes it’s just a small celebration. But it always involves the whole family.

Through the years we’ve added a few more children. But it remains the day we became a family. Our celebrations are still special. And this weekend we spent the day in Atlanta. First the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, then out for sushi.

A fabulous day. A fabulous family. A fabulous past 12 years.

Thank you, my knight in shining armor.

 A wizard, wolf and wabbit, playing around in the children’s garden.

 My daughter’s reflection in the reflecting pool.

 

Little brother’s feet were too tired so Big Sis to the rescue. (She was our photographer for the day. Why she always sends me her pics in black and white, I don’t know. She doesn’t like how she looks in color, I guess.)

 

My little leap day boy, hanging out with Mr. Frog.

Two little rabbits caught in Mr. McGregor’s Garden!

And he’s making me laugh. Again. And again. And yet, again. Must be why I’m still with him.

For more !!! (Intentional Happiness) visit Momalom or Bad Mommy Moments.