Confessions of a Mommy Blogger

I read this great article in one of my favorite magazines (it's called "Wonder time") and I thought it would be fun to share some of it with all of my blogger friends. Since I am new to this whole blogging world, I am still not completely convinced it is worth my time. This article helped me understand blogging a little more. It sort of confirms why we blog and what benefit we all get from blogging. I will only share a few key points here, but if any one wants to read the entire article, it is in the February 2008 issue.

" Blogging is narcissistic-and time consuming. It gives strangers (not to mention the in-laws) ammunition for criticizing our parenting choices. And one day it could really mortify our kids. Here's why we do it anyway. . ."

"1. To understand that you are not alone. Especially if you're a mother. Someone out there is still awake with a restless toddler or dotting their newborn with Doritos fallout. I read blogs to feel that I am part of something larger, a whole world of other women raising children on this crazy, spinning planet. Being a parent is so frustratingly difficult and blindingly beautiful at the same time. Blogs remind me to celebrate the beautiful and that I am not alone in the difficult.
2. Blogging is the underbelly of scrapbooking. [Only it aint so pretty]. In the scrapbook version of my summer vacation, I would paste together a sunny collage of sea and sand and smiling kids. In the blog version, I might be more inclined to mention the steaming beach Port-A-John where the final quarter of Birdy's sandwich ended up tumbling into the reeking blackness. Blogging might not make life tidier, but it keeps life in your memory and keeps it real.
3. For me and the millions of others who do it, blogging can also be the literary equivalent of streaking through a stadium-15 minutes of slightly crass fame-but over and over again!
4. Writing helps me pay attention as the years fly by. I'm forever scrolling notes on Target receipts about the things the kids say. Because I am seeing our family's life as a funny story I could tell, [I really pay attention].
5. I think blogging actually makes me a better parent because I feel like I'm being watched, even if its only self imposed. It's like the way I am a better parent when there are guests in the house-more inclined to make waffles and play Monopoly. One anonymous blogger puts it 'I go through my day in kind of a compose post mode, where I am actively selecting words to describe my children, their beauty, their quirkiness, their inner lives-and that process helps me to see them, to be mindful of who they are.' Writing gives me a way to step back from my life and really see it. To watch my kids and let the gratitude flood through my veins."

I especially love the last part of that article. It describes how I have always felt about scrapbooking (when I had time) and so now, that life is crazier-blogging is putting that all back in my life for me (when I can squeeze it in)! I just love that there is this solution to communicating with friends and family and also keeping track of my family's memories. Initially, we started this blog to help spread the word about our adoption efforts, but I was surprised to discover that it is becoming so much more than that! It is awesome!