Last day, first month.

In case you haven't noticed, I decided to try a little experiment this past month.  I committed (in my own head) to posting once a day for the entire month of January.  And as this month comes to a close, I have been thinking about why I blog, and where to go from here.

Last year I fell off the blogging wagon big time.  I have already done almost as many posts in the first month of 2013 as I did in all of 2012.  One reason was that I was busy.  Another reason was that I spent a fair portion of the year in a bit of a depressed funk.  But another reason was that I had turned blogging into something that I did for other people, and not myself.  I wanted to present myself in a certain way, and show that I was Awesome Mom, not Thursday Mom.

Instead I ended up burning out on life . . . just going thru the motions.  And blogging is not part of going thru the motions, that's for sure!

In November, I came back to life a bit after a kick in the pants at the Beth Moore conference I went to in Lewiston.  I have spent a fair amount time since then thinking and praying and examining my/our life, and a good hard look at my motivations for blogging was part of that.

Now I've come to some conclusions, and I'm ready to share them with you.

1.  I love the idea of journaling, and have a bunch of notebooks stored away in the basement that attest to that fact.  Except if you looked a little closer, you would see that the dates have massive gaps in time (sometimes years long) when I didn't write a word, and then wrote a whole bunch in a couple of weeks, then another huge break.  Basically, I usually pull out my journal when going thru a crisis.  So my entire life of journaling looks like one big crisis with some long empty breaks.  You'd feel sorry for the girl who wrote those journals if you read them (you won't), but the truth is a far different story.

2.  Despite flunking Journaling Consistently 101, I love to write.  And they do say "practice makes perfect."  Thus, it stands to reason that the only way to become a better writer is to practice.  When I set out to post every day in January, that was part of my thinking.  I wanted to get writing to be a more consistent part of my life.  I knew I wouldn't fully commit to it if I was only jotting down notes in a journal.  No, for me consistency needed to have a beginning, middle, and end every day.  At least for a month.

3.  I want to have a record of these early years with the kiddos.  And not just a record of how stinkin' cute they are, but what our life is like, and how we interact and live day to day.  A baby book is great, but I know memories fade, and I want to hold on to more than when their first tooth made it's appearance.

4.  I will readily admit it . . . I LOVE to make people laugh.  And maybe make them cry, too.  But mostly to laugh.  Laughter is better medicine than any pill you can take, so when I can turn a really crappy (literally) bath into a funny story, it makes me see the lighter side, and not take myself quite so seriously.  I miss getting up on a stage and telling a story by becoming a different person for a little while . . . I plan to get back to acting and community theater in another year or two, but for now this is a creative outlet I can grab hold of right in my own home.

I have enjoyed this month of daily posts.  So much so that I am planning to continue them right on thru February.  And in order to exercise my creative muscles a little bit, I am going to ask you (the readers) to get involved.  I would like you to give me some suggestions of topics on which to write a little series of essays, one a week for the month of February.  Just comment your ideas on this post or shoot me an e-mail, and I will choose a few.  I want to stretch myself a little bit, whether the ideas be funny or serious.  Help a girl out, will you?!  To give you a little incentive, if I choose your topic(s), I will send you a custom made pencil/toiletries bag!  Don't be afraid to think outside the box . . . I think I would enjoy writing about something a little outlandish.

As I move forward with blogging in 2013, I am keeping one thing in mind, even with this new "assignment" of mine.  I don't blog for the person on the other side of the screen that is reading what I have written.  Once I start writing for a reaction, or to please anyone else, or to have a certain quota of followers, the joy of it goes away.  I blog for me and my little family, and to glorify God with what I write.  Anytime those motivations change, it will be time to step away.

As I end this post, I have to say that I am so excited to see what this year brings, to share it here, and to laugh and enjoy life with you.  Life IS good!  And don't forget, life will really be good for one lucky follower tomorrow when I do the drawing for this bag . . .

I know, it sounds a little hypocritical to say I don't care how many followers I have and then do a giveaway for which you have to be a follower to be eligible . . . but I haven't come up with a better way to do it and can't keep every bag I make for myself or the house will be overrun!  So good luck, and I will be sure to let the lucky winner know tomorrow!