This new year marks my fifth anniversary of blogging! FIVE YEARS!! How strange that a decision which was so impulsive has become such a constant in my life. More constant in fact, than many other things. There are three overriding effects of writing this blog...
1. I get to write often and that has done me untold good. Commenters often say they like my honesty; it doesn't really get sugar-coated round here. I'm a thinker and what I think usually gets recorded. Usually anyway ;-)
2. The pretty pictures. Before I started blogging, I had no idea of the wealth of beautiful photographic imagery and style that existed. When I first started decorating this virtual space I used to spend forever looking for the perfect image, in all sorts of random places. That was before tumblr and Pinterest were established and over those five years, my taste has developed and my appreciation for things of beauty has become enhanced. When I look back on my naive early posts I smile. But there is a rawness when you first start that then settles into a style. I tracking back to early posts of any blog I read; there's a truth in them.
3. The friends and the empathy. I could write reams about this. I honestly never imagined that I would make so many friends, meet so many kindred spirits, get so much from this blogging activity. It's a little-understood area of modern life - especially amongst my age group - to have on line friends. People who you would count as important in your life but whom you may never have met. Or if you have met them, all that has done is strengthen the bond. I admit it's strange and I admit it's not exactly the same as face-to-face friendships, but nevertheless it has mattered very much to me.
I started blogging because of Simone. Around this time of year, heading towards the fresh start that January provides, I stumbled across her blog. That led to so many others and ultimately to the 'me too' sensibility that I have written about before in adult friendship. That kinship that makes you see that there are others out there with the same triumphs and struggles as you. Simone and I are like peas in a pod; we have children the same age, we have uncanny parallels in our lives. We text most weeks, I value her advice and counsel, I still get a little frisson of happiness when she posts a new blog post. That's how it goes with us.
And then there is Amanda - the inspirational do-it-all, be-it-all, no-fashion-question-too-big good friend. If in doubt, I ask Amanda.
Mary, my Bostonian working mother confidante. She writes sense and I listen.
Jacqueline, whose comments I adore and who on more than one occasion has written - '...don't take yourself too seriously Lou!' She's like the big sister I never had. As is Jeanne, whose globe-trotting makes my head spin.
Alison, the quiet force of inspiration, both visual and mental.
Robin, my style-sister in Boston. If I could step over the Atlantic for an elegant, leisurely lunch, I so would. In a heartbeat. And there would be wine...
Tania the Writer. More wisdom than most. When I need a word fix, she is my go-to person. She makes me want to write.
Deborah, yoga-loving, straight-talking, Scandinavian-living.
Natasha, photographer, lawyer, fellow-thinker. Gentle romantic soul.
Sophie; my heart swells for Sophie and her sheer Australian, out-doorsy, healthy, food-enjoying, life-loving enthusiasm. We started blogging at the same time. She married an Englishman. I will always hold her close in my heart. And she follows my daughter on Instagram, like a guardian angel of good sense.
Whatever people feel about blogging, it has brought nothing but good to me. Long may it continue.
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| ...and of course we all look like this...haha ;-) |
