It's Been A Minute... or Two

It's been a minute, or two since I posted anything on this blog. It's been longer than that since I posted anything of a significant substance.  Originally, I was going to say it's been longer since I've posted anything of significant substance about my life, but I can't quite remember what - if anything - I've ever written about my life other than the weekly group blog posts that referenced things in my life. 

I don't know if anyone really reads this blog other than the hits it might get from someone reading one of my book reviews, an entry about a particular topic only found because of an internet search, or a hit connected to the other bloggers I use to write with in the blog project. With that said, if you are a returning reader, welcome back!  If you are new, I hope you enjoy what you read. I appreciate you taking time to read my blog.

Time was a huge factor as to why I stopped writing.  When I moved to the city 10 years ago, I didn't have the time.  I was working multiple jobs, taking classes, socializing, and/or traveling.  Energy was another factor.  Though I had so much on my mind to write about, I was busy and didn't have the energy to write my thoughts down.  Lastly, privacy.  I've struggle with this competent of any blog post I've written since day one.  What parts of my life do I write about and what parts don't I write about has always been a "tug of war" for me and will continue to be one. I'm mostly a private person, but I've learned over time that the best writing comes is when you are truly candid and vulnerable with your audience. This is something I'm working on. 

Truthfully, I can't tell you why I'm back.  Time and energy seem even less these days and as I mentioned above I still struggle with fully sharing my life. All I know is that I am . . . at least I hope I am back.  While life has changed in many ways, there are two significant changes. There is now two very significant people in my life - my husband and my child a.k.a. my Mini Bagel.  Personally, I still can't believe this is the case.  I still pinch myself.  Especially when I look at my Mini Bagel.  Don't get me wrong, I love my hubby very much and am so happy to have him in my life, but seriously y'all having MB is just . . . well, there are no words and I know hubby feels the same way.

This is where I'll leave things for now.  Again, thank you!

Judgement Day

When I first discovered the Crazy Aunt Purl blog, written by Laurie Perry, I was THRILLED!  The timing couldn't have been more perfect as she provided a humorous escape from the awfulness that I was experiencing.  Though our stories and approaches to things weren't the same, I could related to Laurie's experiences and I found comfort in that simple fact.  Additionally, I admired her candor and tell-it-like-it-is approach.  This was at a time that I was just beginning to blog and the thought of doing such a thing was unthinkable. 

Though in the beginning I couldn't get enough of the Crazy Aunt Purl blog, as my life changed so did the frequency I read this blog.  I'm not sure why, but it just did.  It didn't mean I didn't continue to read the blog, it just meant that instead of instantly reading a new entries I would sometimes go days, or even weeks, without a visit and then catch-up in periodic sittings.

Recently, I happen to see this post in my RSS feed.  If you choose to not read the post, I will summarize it for you... it is basically about the downside to her "tell-it-like-it-is," no filter posts that make-up many years of blogging for her.  She goes on to talk about how her past entries have currently impacted all various areas of her life - personal, professional, etc.

Immediately I felt a connection, again.  The timing of the post was appropriate.   Though I have taken a more conservative approach to how much I share on my blog than Laurie has in the past, most of the time, I still think about judgement.  A lot.  I've also had a lot of conversations about judgement with my BFF - how it shows up in my life and how people may judgement me based upon what they read on this blog, or any others I might write on. 

When I first stared blogging about things beyond knitting being completely forthcoming was not an option for me, however as time passed I began to open up more and shared more "personal stuff" in my writing.  As this evolution took place, my conversations went from why I needed to be more open to whether or not I was being too open.  (It kind of felt like a "you're damned if you do and damned if you don't situation.)  The "catch 22" to all this is that some of my best writing are the pieces where I don't hold back and I share a lot of me with readers.

With all this in mind, how much of myself I put into what I write is not why the timing of happening upon this entry is uncanny.  Recently, I've been made aware of how quickly some people are to judge me - who I am and what I believe - so quickly and with little information.   Needless to say, this upsets me.  It makes me want to sit the offending party(ies) down and plead my case.  But I haven't done that.  (For various reasons.)  However, it still upsets me. 

One of the things I pride myself on is that I try to take the time to understand where people are coming from - even when I vastly disagree with them or would handle/react to things differently than they have done.  I try not to generalize people on who I "think" they are based a limited information I know about them or hold them to standards I don't know I could meet myself.

Yes.  I know I'm probably not making sense.  Quite honestly, what's going on doesn't make sense to me; so, I guess if anything, it makes sense that what I'm saying doesn't make sense.

(Did that make sense???)

Ultimately, it's my hope people would stop generalizing others and be given the chance to show  who they are without passing judgement so quickly - or at all for that matter.