Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Navel Gazing

Things seem to move at the speed of light here. And they also crawl past at a mercilessly slow pace.

What can I say, that's winter in the northeast for you. It's right about this time every year when I start fondly remembering the Navy stationing us in the south. I'm a little over the negative temperatures which necessitate copious amounts of inside time.

You'd think I'd have plenty of time for blogging during the winter. Alas, things don't often pan out the way we think.

There have been so many ideas for posts swirling around my brain, but I realize that I'm going to need to do some creative time management if I ever hope to get back to my blogging hobby with any kind of regularity.

Francie is now at the point where she does quite a bit of homework on the computer. My computer . . . which is also the family computer. She usually finishes up her work by 8:30, but by then I'm practically comatose on the sofa, and so another evening of potential posting slips by with a whimper.

I've also been feeling mightily afflicted by writer's block. I start a post, and then I start to overthink it. Does anyone out there really need - or even want - to hear about the excruciating minutiae of our life right now?

I mean, our life is wonderful in a "things are growing!!" kind of way. But growth happens so slowly. And so wondrously hidden. It's sometimes beyond my energy level to manufacture an interesting thought about how we had chicken casserole - again! - and the kids told me they hate casseroles - again!!

There are so many times during the day when I think about something I want to share -- like the beautifully restored farmhouse on 11 acres that I want to buy with my parents and create a Walton-esque compound.

And yet, by the time I sit down and read over what I wrote, it just doesn't sound right anymore. I start to think about all the big, important things that other bloggers write about, and suddenly my farmhouse daydream seems like the last thing I should want to share.

I know a lot of this is in my head. This blog is my hobby after all, so what's my motivation in maintaining it? Plus, I can hear a chorus of my college professors saying, Write! The only way to get better at writing is to keep writing. The only way to get around writer's block is to keep writing! Use it or lose it.

So I guess I will keep at it for now. I like this little place to much to shut it down, even though every other post seems to be my own attempts at persuading myself to keep the blog going.

I'll share the trivial and the mundane, and maybe, once in a great while, a gem will pop out. And I'll hope that something good comes out of it all.

8 comments:

  1. Come on -- I'm writing about laundry. Surely you can top that!

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  2. I love your writing - whatever it's about! I hear ya though about it being hard to just spit something out. How's Fiver doing in school this year? What's this pregnancy like so far? How tired are you REALLY? These are the things I wonder about.

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  3. I am also interested in pregnancy talk- if you're up for it :) And I think that you never know when something that seems mundan or trivial is actually really interesting. Somtimes I post something that I think will get lots of comments and it's a bomb. Then I post something that seems so very boring and I get more responses. You never know what us crazy blog folk will latch onto so post away!

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  4. We like this little place too :)

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  5. ooh- a farmhouse dream! with grandparents involved! ala Charlie and the Chocolate Factory "family bed" or separate quarters? Do tell! I'm nursing my own little version over here (it doesn't involve being north in frigid temps, but the other basics are the same)...

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  6. OK, I just have to say that when I read the title of this post, I was a little bit afraid that you had been taking pictures with your new ipod again! Good post, though. Please don't stop!

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  7. I LOVE checking in on a Catholic mom who's as crazy as me :) Don't stop! By the way, where do you live? I know you probably don't want to make that public, but email me if you think you live anywhere nearby us....

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  8. BTW - if you have a farm dream and you are in PA then you absolutely HAVE to read, Fifty Acres and a Poodle by Jeanne Marie Laskas.

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