I was never much good at Goodbye
(Can you name the song that line is from? And the artist? Think 1980s…of course!)
This is my official “goodbye, blogging world” post. My life has undergone many adjustments in recent months—never fear, they’ve all been good ones—and one of the things I’ve committed to doing is managing my time better.
Homeschooling has begun, we’re getting ready for a big move (HURRAY!), and also, I have this 2nd child now who takes up a whole lot of my time (more time than anyone with less than 2 kids could ever imagine! I don’t care what others say: a 2nd child makes for MORE than double the work). We really do have a lot going on right now. Big, exciting changes!
I have things I’d like to blog about, but to do so would be at the expense of family time, or at the expense of my own quiet time—and I’d rather be doing the latter things. Especially when no one is reading my blog. Yes, I know, some people have popped in when I’ve mentioned this before and said, “But, I read!”, and maybe they do, but really, let’s be honest…no one is truly reading. Proof of that is my last post got only one reply! And, I’m not complaining about that. I’m just explaining why it’s not worth the time I spend on it.
And even if I did have a large readership, I’m still not sure it’s worth the time spent. I’m a reader of several blogs where moms faithfully post entries most every day about what their kids are doing, what they’re struggling with, as well as cute pictorials and all kinds of commentaries about motherhood and life in general. Yes, I enjoy reading these blogs, but I always wonder, what were the kids doing while the mom sat blogging about all this? And is it strange that she’s spending all this time writing up these witty, entertaining posts, while her children are growing up right beside her—and is she possibly missing out on living that blessed experience, while she instead sits and writes about it? I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I don’t want to ever make that mistake! I feel like I’ve made it too often already.
Perhaps these moms have it all together and only do their writing during naptime or after bedtime. I could do that, too, but…I don’t want to. Those times are either my times to catch up on housework or other projects, or if not that, then to just sit back and enjoy some down time. To me, blogging isn’t a downtime activity, perhaps because I take writing so seriously and it seems more like a job. Especially if I’m feeling the pressure to blog often, or even regularly. If I didn’t have kids, I’d probably blog daily—but then again, if I didn’t have kids, I’d probably run out of things to blog about real fast!
It boils down to this: I want to get back to doing only things that make me happy and only things that don’t steal time away from my family. Blogging, at least for this season in my life, is neither of those things. So, it’s time to put it aside and focus on those things.
What will I be doing?
Well, I’m going to be homeschooling G and may possibly, in the distant future (read: when Des is old enough to not need near-constant attention during all his waking hours), come back and blog again, but most likely as a homeschooling blog. But only if it doesn’t take up precious time, and only if I find that I truly enjoy it. We’ll see.
We’re getting our house ready to sell (and praying that it sells fast…it’s getting kind of scary) and soon we’ll be moving into our new home! It’s so exciting; I can’t even begin to express how thrilling this is. But it’s a lot of work and a lot of stress, and we’re about to be in the thick of it, as the new home nears completion.
If you want to keep in touch with me, find me on Facebook…I think everyone who has been a reader of my blog is already my FB friend anyway! It’s where I keep all our photos, including the house progress pics. And people, if you’re not on Facebook yet, you need to be. It is so much fun. Philip and I have connected with so many old friends lately, along with many current friends as well. LOTS of friends from high school, which has been so fun—better than a reunion! Lots of nights, after the kids are in bed (that’s my allotted computer time—I’ve cut out computer time during the day except for looking up items for school, info, etc…but I’m doing no socializing or mindless reading during the day. Okay, I do allow myself to read blogs or check FB during lunch, but I time myself), we’re both logged into FB and interacting with friends and family. It’s often fun stuff or even silly, sometimes serious stuff, sometimes lively debate (and with our current marxist “president”, there’s no shortage of material to discuss!)…but it’s always a whole lot of fun.
You have to get on FB and use it to know what I mean. You can share pictures (one of my favorite parts), post items to discuss, share videos, play games, and constantly interact with any number of friends, either individually or as a group. At the same time, there are great privacy features built in, so that you can choose who sees what (or who doesn’t). I’m sure I’ll get bored of it someday, but for now, it’s a nice way to relax in the evenings and to keep in touch with many special people. And okay, maybe it’s a big reason I don’t have time or desire to do much blogging anymore during my down times. As I mentioned earlier, my computer time is very limited, and when I’m online, I find that FB (and reading blogs) is what I’m enjoying most these days.
Catch me there— and if not, then this may be the last you hear from me for a while. At the moment, I have no imminent plans to continue Ms. Understood. But don’t worry— I will no doubt continue to be misunderstood by most everyone on this earth. It’s my lot in life. And, to be honest, it’s not necessarily a bad one. 
