In the past year I’ve evaluated why I have this blog since clearly I don’t keep it very updated.  Since I just renewed my url address, I thought it was a perfect time to share why I have a blog and why I don’t post very often:

Why I have a blog
-I value growing as a writer and appreciate a space in which to finish/publish pieces.
That’s pretty much it.

Why I don’t blog often
-Blogging stresses me out
-I don’t see myself as a blogger, but someone who writes and occasionally puts pieces on a blog.
-I’m not interested in building a following, or posting because I feel obligated.
-I only write/post when it energizes me.  Some people are energized by blogging.  Personally, I don’t find blogging restful.  There are enough drains on my time and energy these days, so I try to be purposeful about filling my limited free time with life-giving activities.

Those are my reasons.  Why do you blog?

How quickly these tiny toes grow.  Each day he changes a little, but ever so slightly.  So slightly, it’s easy to forget.  I need to remind myself daily to stop and savor how he looks, smells, feels right now.

My big girl turns two next month.  I remember framing the perimeter of her foot with my thumb and index finger. Her little toes are now jumping and running. How quickly these tiny toes grow.

(Thanks again T&B for the lovely blanket)

Suburbia. How I hate thee. Your uniform houses. Your chain stores. Your sprawling limits. To the north I go and find Walmart, Target, and Starbucks. To the south they are there also. East and West, it doesn’t matter which way I go.

Suburbia, you are my Truman Show. You beckon me to accept that this is all I could want, or at least this is all there is. You offer me a cup of convenience from an unending pitcher of static materialism. Curse these eyes that never cease in seeing perfectly square buildings.

I don’t want to eat the same carrots, from the same store, from the same mega farm. I don’t want to buy a couch that thousands of others lounge upon. I don’t want to look just like every other middle-class mother of two on my street or in my town. Suburbia, I am an individual with creative and unique ideas. Despite what you tell me each day, I do not need to conform to your standard of living to be happy. You can take your mass-produced lifestyle and stick it in your over-used garbage system. I will not forget my roots, though your sidewalks strive to cover them.

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

When I see leaves scattering through the road on a dry, fall day, I can’t help but think that they are happy to be free from the trees.  They almost seem giddy and mischievous as they fly here and there without a plan.

I can hear them now saying, “I’ve been serving this tree since spring, I’m outta here!”  Or maybe they’re just leaves falling as they always do, year after year.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.  ~Albert Camus