Blogging In Search of Sanity

Work Wednesday

 

I've now been at this for a little more than two months - ten Wednesdays of bloggy musings on friendship, relationships, work, technology, parenting, current events, and personal memories - all from one working mom's perspective. But I may not be blogging much longer. Not because of any quitting intentions on my part. Just because the numbers aren't in my favor.

Sunday's paper, looking at what happens "When the Thrill of Blogging is Gone" finds lots of writing gone by the wayside:

    [A]ccording to a 2008 survey by Technocrati, which runs a search engine for blogs, only 7.4  million of the 133 million blogs the company tracks had been updated in the past 120 days. 

That translates to 95 percent of blogs being essentially abandoned.

Those statistics surprised me. Relatively new to the blogosphere (an akward word that I don't really like but use because I haven't come up with a better synonym), I've been overwhelmed by the numbers of active bloggers out there, especially in the so-called "mommy blogger" world. (Another blog-phrase that I don't like because of it's confining and somewhat dismissive undertones.)

There are blogs, of course, that don't have much content and others that contain very little original thinking or writing. Some are just plain bad or boring. But the number of insightful, quirky, funny and simply useful blogs - just for women and just for mothers - is mind-bloggling. (Typo intended. Pun excused.)

 

For working moms, there are hundreds of blogs including semi-professional sites like WorkIt, Mom! (with member blogs) and Mommy Track'd,and also more homegrown or niche blogs like Working Moms Against Guilt and Mamalaw.  (And, of course, momspa.net!)  And then there are blogs on just about any topic you could think of - I won't even try.  The point is - even if I decided to sit in front of a screen all day and night, there's still more interesting and provocative stuff than I could ever follow or read.

So, with all the online offerings and the statistics stacked against me, why am I blogging?
Especially when my free time is scarce and my writing inevitably involves some sacrifice of sleep?  (Not this week, though, I'm in a different time zone!)

Before I tell you why, I'll tell you why not. 

 

I'm not blogging for fame or fortune. (Although either or both would be nice. I could write a very funny book.  And my husband, at least, would laugh.  But then, he really likes to laugh.)  Or for free products, boondogles, and other swag. (At least not if I want to keep my day job.  Which I really, really, do.)  I'm not writing weekly to create community or forge new frienships.  I'm not hostile to making new connections online, but it's hard enough to maintain my cherished offline frienships with all of our busy lives.  And I certainly don't need an outlet for my intellect  - my job provides challenge enough!

Now, I'll tell you why. 

 

I blog because it provides me with a way to work some reflection into my life.  So much of the time I rush from task to appointment to commitment without spending much time thinking about what's transpired.  (And, as I've said before, motherhood-especially with small children- is, by necessity about doing without thinking too much.  Think diapers.)  Blogging once a week forces me to pause, think, and then write.  And the writing itself clarifies my thinking.  Put simply, I blog in search of sanity.

Does that make me self-centered?  Maybe.  But by sharing my reflections, rather than keeping them hidden in a personal journal, I could be sparking a similar search by someone else.
At least I'd like to think so.  Otherwise, I might become just another Technocrati statistic.

Comments

[Jen]

Good post, Stacy. It's sad, but true, that Mothers are often considered self-centered when we take time for ourselves. Yet, being mindful is so important not only to our sanity, but to our happiness. All the activity in the world is meaningless if we fail to reflect and if blogging is your way of finding that time, don't let anyone stop you!

[Katherine]

Stacy, you scared me with the start of this post. Please don't ever stop blogging. I don't think you're self-centered -- as you said, it's a terrific discipline to have a set time each week when you reflect and share your thoughts.

[MM]

Another great post!

[Ellen]

I agree with the other comments and trust that you'll continue blogging for people like me who wish they could set aside time to reflect, but instead depend on people like you to do so! Week after week you make me laugh, think and identify with you -- I so appreciate it!

[Bethany Matz]

stacy - please keep blogging and keep me laughing about how crazy our lives are sometimes. It's so great to hear about how other moms are dealing with the utter lack of downtime to process everything that's going on around us!