"Create a Blog" ~ Reflections on blogging for one year

My mother wanted to know what it was about blogging that I found attractive and I said, in part, I enjoyed the challenge of consistently writing posts while trying to keep them fresh...to which she replied, "that sounds awful." My father, as usual, cut to the chase and said blogging is a form of egotism and in his opinion, everyone else writes for money (although I noticed he did like my Father's Day post.) It wasn't as harsh as it sounds, but it did get me thinking about the past year.

My daughter's blog is an inspiration and I pop in daily to delight in her beautiful photography as well as her links to an outside world not found in rural Maine. For the uninitiated and not particularly computer savvy, the blogger world is an exotic country, a bazaar, if you will, of endless delights one click after another. I was in awe of the technology that made this possible. Many in my generation have not ventured further than work application and email. We are still wary of our privacy even though it no longer exists as we once knew it...some have made the leap to facebook, fewer to blogger and twitter. So here's my confession! In the midst of last year's Christmas rush, my eye happened to land on "create a blog" at the top of JCB's page and, on a whim, I clicked. Many frustrating hours later I had my first clunky little post...it was my "Alice in Wonderland" fall through the rabbit hole moment. I wish I could say a noble vision got me here, but really it was simple curiosity. As for ego? It was pretty much in tatters and I doubt anyone takes this fork in the road with complete confidence.

From the beginning, I did know there were two things I wanted to do. I had nearly three thousand photographs in my Flicker stream that represented a personal journey. I fell in love the moment I first picked up a digital camera and I wanted to share my discovery. Flickr has been a wonderful resource and I treasure the friends I have made and their invaluable comments. I found blogging enhances and clarifies by fleshing out the whole story behind the images and, in time, my blog became a necessary part of the whole creative process. I've also been blessed with some extraordinary experiences in places that are not fully understood. I've lived with these memories for years and it was time to give a face to the people who populate my past, particularly my beloved Goli. I'm still working out how to do that with every post.

Some thank yous...to JCB for opening the window. To my parents (ages 89 and 95!) for the pleasure of a lively debate. I am so grateful for that and to have them in my life. To my son, John, who has the most wonderful way of explaining what I should have learned about computers years ago! To my brother for hours of 'tele-encouragement!' To Peter for everything.