40 and fabulous

When I was a kid, I kept a diary… with a little key. And when I was a teenager, I kept a journal. At some point, I kept a prayer list, which was really just a diary with ‘dear God’ written at the top instead of either ‘dear diary’ or the date. At some point, my friend, Aleece, said to me, ‘you should blog. It’s the same thing as journaling, but your hands don’t cramp up.’ Aleece is a smart friend.

Blogging for me was always about working through things in my head. For a brief period, I entertained a fleeting enjoyment of the idea that people might read my blog and I might have a following, but it soon became clear that in order for that to happen, too much work would be involved. In the last six months or year, I haven’t blogged routinely though I’ve had lots I’ve wanted to work through because people I know in real life… outside of Aleece… now have the blog address and read what I write. And while that is sweet and intimate and kind, it is also a little intimidating. There are some dark and unhappy things swirling about in my head that not everyone need to know. Ya know?

Aleece, always smart, suggested the other day that I start a new, super secret blog. And I considered it. But I love this blog. I love the way it has followed me through the years, the way it reads as the roadmap of my life. And so I’ve decided that it’s time for me to return to blogging and to laying the good and the bad out here. I have always been very honest here. Because this blog is for me, not for mass consumption. And I intend to continue to write that way.

So this post is a bit of a warning of sorts… to those who know me in person… you might not like all that you read in the future… you can always just not. There are some lovely other sites… if you’re shopping, I like Etsy - A Dusty Attic is one of my favorites as is Inspire Me Crafts - and if you’re hungry, you can always check out the foodie links on the sidebar here. Yum.

But anyhoo… I’m thinking 40 is a good time to take a new look at Chel. Because I’m kinda grooving to what I’m seeing as I’m looking.

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Tagged with: blogging • Chel

Should I stay or should I go…

That’s my question of the moment. (I like to have at least one burning question of the moment at any given moment.)

I have loved blogging. I’ve kept journals for as long as I can remember, and blogging has been a perfect grown-up journal. A friend of mine (and I am humbled to call her that… not at all sure I should take the liberty) reminded me to be sure to make back-up copies so that my kids wil have a record of these days of our lives.

When I initially began to blog, I did it entirely for me. Then, a handful of folks began to read (and seriously, I’m pretty sure it’s literally a handful), and it was kinda nice to be a part of that community.

In 2006, we moved from Louisiana to Florida, and blogging because more important to me for a variety of reasons. It became a way for people we had left behind to keep up with how we were adjusting, to what we were doing. For a time, I couldn’t so much talk on the phone without sobbing, but I could write.

As things settled, it once again, became a place for me to put my thoughts, to plan my goals. To hope. It is really important to me that my kids some day be able to look back at these posts and see the good and the bad of our lives, to see God at work.

So, I feel like maybe I’m making my case already, but …

I’ve discovered Facebook. And it’s been lots of fun. I’ve gotten to get back in touch with all sorts of lovely people from my past, both long ago and yesterday. It’s been a good to be able to connect, to chat, to visit and plan visits.

It’s a little addictive getting little snippits of information from friends - people I know in real life - about the minutia of their lives. I’ve always thought the the real import of life happens in the little details, in the ins and outs of our daily activities.

I find it comforting to know those things about those I love.

But I find that I’m having trouble doing both. And I don’t know which to choose.

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Tagged with: blogging • Facebook