Award Graveyard and Bloggy Question #3 - Are you more/less present?
Welcome, you have just arrived at the website where awards come to die . . .
Long, long ago, several wonderful ladies bestowed on me some blog love. I, in my lameness, have not yet acknowledged them. So today, for some fun linky love to get us all off to nice weekend, I will finally say thank you the way I should have right then and there. I’m sorry ladies - lameness, that’s my excuse. I’m very appreciative - seriously, thank you - but also very lame.
But first, let me ask of you my next bloggy question. You can find the first one about whether or not blogging makes you a wee bit too chatty with strangers here, and the great discussion in the comments about ads on blogs here, where tons of people said the exact opposite of what I’d expected.
For today though, I’d like to know this - Do you think blogging makes you more or less present in the moment in your real life? I have heard so many moms refer to this notion of “blogging in their heads” on a regular basis. I know it is something I have been very guilty of since I started my blog a few years ago. It’s like going through something with your kids and missing it to take photos - you got some great shots, but were you really enjoying the moment as best you could? How often has my husband asked me if I am “blogging this” when he sees my eyes glaze over and a smirk on my face?
On the flip side, I would sometimes argue that blogging makes me more aware of what is going on around me, after all, I’m always on the lookout for something “blogworthy,” and maybe this makes me pay a little more attention. What little bits of life might have passed by unnoticed had I not been alert to their potential entertainment value?
What do you think? Has blogging made you more or less present in your day to day life?
And now, onto the awardage, where I hang my head in shame rather than hold it high. Leave it to me to turn something fun into a public flogging, right?
Kate of The Clean Plate Club awarded me with the Excellent Award. Kate, I’m counting on you to tell me what the heck went wrong with that sugar syrup! Kate is back to discussing parenting on her blog every so often, which makes me oh-so-happy. Check her out.
Misty of Rainy Day in May gave me the Share The Love Award. Misty’s blog is uber-entertaining. It seems like she always has a story to tell, stories that make you say to yourself no way, did that really happen to someone in real life? It’s pretty crazy and often hysterical and her way of retelling it all is always great.
Cheryl of Twinfatuation gave me the I Love You This Much Award. Did you know Cheryl wrote a book? I’ve been reading Cheryl’s blog for a few months now and didn’t realize that the book that is on her sidebar was written BY HER! A REAL BOOK, like on Amazon with reviews and stuff. She like, um, writes and stuff. It actually doesn’t surprise me in the least because her blog is always insightful and well-written. I’m just surprised at myself for being so clueless - talk about lame.
Will have to do more later. Robby is miserable (fever) and can’t nap . . .
Congrats on the awards!
I think when I first started getting into blogging (maybe was obsessed?) that I was always thinking about it and the next post and so forth. But I almost had to condition myself to step away and breathe and take in real life moments, sometimes on-purpose I vowed I would not blog about something. Or I’d leave my camera at home. I’d do things that forced me to forget about the blogging aspects of a certain moment and just focus on life. THEN is when I would find that later on I liked my retrospection much more than if I were to blog about the actual moment. Those are usually my favorite posts anyway. If that makes any sense at all! It also was a way I think I found my style of writing and what fits me, so that could be a part of it, too.
Steph
Well, since you asked… For me personally, it makes me more aware. More aware of what’s going on around me.
Unless my nose is stuck in a book. then nothing really matters.
I don’t think it has affected my “present”-ness. I think too much in general, blogging just gives me an outlet for my thoughts.
I too was a little too into blogging everything when I first started my blog, and I am still guilty of pre-blogging in my head from time to time. But I guess that is how it is with anything new, right?
But as far as how it relates to my “presentness” I dont think I have changed much since blogging. I fancy myself to be a pretty present person in general, and I dont think blogging has put a damper on that. On the flip side, blogging hasnt enhanced it either.
One thing I will say ~ I guess this is sort of tangentially related ~ is that sometimes I have a “great idea” for a post and by the time I sit down to type it out, I no longer feel it is so great… like if I had sat down in the moment of feeling it’s greatness, it could have been; but the moment passed, so it was lost. Now there’s a bunch of something about nothing…
I hope your little one is feeling better!
I think blogging makes me more present. But I am also aware of things that should be left to the privacy of real life relationship. Sometimes my friends and family want to know that my time with them is reserved for them, and not for the blog! It is a fine balance!
I’ve gone through phases with blogging. At first I blogged for therapeutic reasons. There was so much I needed to get out of my system about the frustration of being a new mom. Then I got into this way of thinking that I HAD to blog every day. Like it was a job or something. I started to feel bogged down. Now I’m just laid back. I write when I want to, when I have something to say or when I want to share something. I don’t feel obligated I’m just chill about it. These days I wouldn’t say I feel more or less in the moment because of blogging. It is just a seamless part of my life now.
First of all, I was just recently introduced to your site, so hello.
Congratulations on your award.
I really like your question about mind-blogging. I’m new at the blog thing, and I created my blog with the intention of encouraging myself and other moms to make it through the challenges of typical mom life, so for me the blog project has made me look at my own life differently because I know I have to blog some life lesson about what’s happening to me. So, yes it’s distracting, but so far in a good way.