Friday, March 13, 2009

Da Count-Da Blog



DA COUNT

(Counting what I've got instead of bemoaning what I lack. Go tell Lecram if you played along.)

I've been blogging for about 3 1/2 years now and it's been such a great thing. I started it because I wanted to keep in touch with some friends I made in a trivia forum after that place devolved so badly none of us could stand to go there any more. We had fun being silly in our individual blogs and in a couple that some of us authored together. Along the way I found new friends from all over the world.

I also discovered this is a pretty nice place to try out some creative ideas. I desperately needed a creative outlet that cost no money. I saw some fine examples of other people using this format in such a way and decided early on not to lock myself into one type of post so I could be flexible in what I tossed out into the ether. Having this outlet has allowed me some nice opportunities to see different ideas and test them out in my own way. It has sparked more creativity in me and made me want to polish some things I might otherwise have ignored.

I never intended to have a confessional type of blog or spend a lot of time venting aggravation (I don't mind reading those types, I just don't generally want to be that type). I've wanted to be positive for the most part. On occasion though there have been things that have weighed on me so I've put them out here in one way or another. When I've done so I've been blessed with wonderful expressions of support, some good advice, and great kindness from so many of you.

This week I needed to write the post about music teachers because I was so angry about the way my girls have been treated lately. I started about 3 different versions of the post and they all were so negative I couldn't bring myself to post them. Yet, I still needed to express some of what was going on. The struggle to express it without spewing bile from start to finish led me to reflection on the list of good teachers. I think if I didn't have this particular outlet I may well have stewed in my own juices a bit longer because I wouldn't have been forced to look at things from a different angle. So this week I'm counting having this blog because for all the silly drivel I can put out there, it has served me in far deeper ways than I ever imagined it would.

26 comments:

Unknown said...

That is part of the reason why I blog, too. To be able to express the feelings I am having in my own life, while being able to reflect on them and work through them while I go through the process of writing. I never was a diary-keeper, but this blog thing is pretty cool.

Breazy said...

I know my blog seems boring most of the time because it is basically about my day to day life as a mother and wife but I agree with you that it is an outlet for me, even when that doesn't show on my blog.

I am glad you started blogging because I have thoroughly enjoyed reading everything you put out for us.

Have a great weekend !

Desmond Jones said...

I, for one, am so glad you got into blogging. And glad that I found you here (thanks to Bunny for that). . .

I kept a paper journal for about 20 years. I always thought that it helped me keep track of my thoughts, and just to remember and not forget them. And blogging adds the whole 'interactive' dimension to that. Plus, there's the whole 'therapy' aspect of it, especially in light of some of our family traumas around the time I started blogging (a bit after you got started; altho I've been way more off-and-on about than you have).

So - absolutely; I'm glad for your blog, too. . . ;)

Reasons said...

I admire your restraint. I'm a spewer, but I know what you mean. I hope the piano teacher saga gets sorted.

Suldog said...

I hear you. I consider my blog a sort-of self-psycho-therapy. I let it out, or confess, or whatever, and then it's off of my mind and I feel light, breezy, fresh and clean.

I've also met loads of nice folks, such as yourself. All around, good stuff!

furiousBall said...

there's no right or wrong way to blog and that's what i like about the whole genre. i can read your restraint and that's what i like about your polite opaqueness. keep doin' what yer doin'

Bijoux said...

Bloggy Friends are da bomb! So glad you are here, Lime!

Jazz said...

What FurBall said. He beat me to it.

Kat said...

The blog really can serve as therapy, can't it?
I'm glad you were able to get some of that venom out. And you did it in such a nice way. :)

Hilary said...

So true about this outlet. No matter the content.. no matter the tone. Nicely expressed.

G-Man said...

You know how I feel about this...
Michelle Aussi Trini Limey..:P

Craver Vii said...

It was fun to read that post with its blessings and woes. Not that I delighted in your (daughters') misfortunes-- just that your expression was so creative and entertaining! You are right to hold teachers accountable to a standard, and to stand up for a decent treatment of your daughers.

I gather that it was even kind of you to step between, because if you were super-angry, you could have decided not to hold Diana back. ;-)

I teach Sunday School. And I teach with passion. But with all my emotional outbursts, none of it can be directed at the children. They are not my children. My explosive dynamics are reserved for the infusion of emotion into the retelling of historical events. When I get really upset with a student's behavior, I call them aside, and whisper a threat to tell their fathers how they are behaving in my class. A cold, private whisper has been the hardest I ever needed to be in 20 years of teaching. We can never, never, never allow ourselves to pitch a fit of temper in the classroom.

S said...

Raises hand! Me! Me! I am one of those trivia runaways! Is proud to have known Lime a very dang long time.

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you dont. Blogging is good therapy, either way.

Logophile said...

The blogging is a good thing.
I'm glad you have one.
I've definitely gotten to know you better through your blog and it's been a blast too.
Definitely one for the count.

Anonymous said...

Amazing Da Count!!! :) I love your blog and I think you're wonderful! How else could we know one another??? I'll thank Lecram later for leading me your way :)

Keep it up girl! ;)

Anonymous said...

Right with you on this one!

Anonymous said...

I think we started mostly at the same time and soon become blog friend. I follow your reasons to keep on and will also ad what a great social media to connect, to learn to see and experience throughout the whole world.

Keep on - I love your writings - besides; its your blog and you are the master here!

Happy Weekend too :-)

Anonymous said...

A very good post. I so much agree that blogging brings so many unexpected things into our lives. It is a great creative outlet, a wonderful media to get to know people and I know without a doubt that Renny and I have had experiences that we never would have had if not for blogging. Keep it up because we love hearing from you thats why we always come back. Right now my schedule is incredibly busy as I am about to deliver my thesis but I still find the time to drop in as often as I can because it means something to me, and it means something to others that I pop in!

Lulda Casadaga said...

Sorry to hear about your daughters and their not so nice music teachers. My cousin and his wife are both music teachers and I'm sure it is not an easy job, but no need to get hostile.

this blog thing has been wonderful to me...I really find that writing is helping me in ways I would not have thought...plus meeting such wonderful people and bonding in a certain way is priceless.

The laughs and inspiration I have gotten from all I visit has been amazing...keep up the great work my friend!

GAB said...

I havent been around much lately but I started to release my inner troubles. At the advise of a theropist to try to figure out if I had been abused as a child like both my sisters had been. I really wish I had my orginal blog back because thats where I finally reaslised that I too had been abused and had locked it so far back that Im surprsied that I found it. But the doc told me when my body was ready to handle it it would come and the writings were to either get it started or bury it deaper. Glad your here.

Rick Rockhill said...

I love this post. It captures just how I feel as well. Amazingly blogging is fun, expressive and a great outlet as well. I too needed a way to channel my creative thoughts and energy, and it has really done wonders for me. Its also intersting to follow blogs of others, have a peek into their lives. You've inspired me to write a post about this very topic one day next week. Thanks Lime!

Elle Dubya said...

You've described what so many of us feel. The outlet to be ourselves and find acceptance amongst other like minded souls. HUGE reason why I too am so attracted to blogging. And...a nice reminder why I'm still pseudo anonymous ;)

Cheesy said...

I'm a little teapot short and stout... here is my handle , here is my spout. When you tip me over hear me shout...
Sock it to me baby let it ALL hang out!

That's how I view blogging!

Ed & Jeanne said...

Nice! Sadly...I'm locked into stoopid posts with mine! Oh well. Oh,a nd on the music teacher thing...ask yourself...what would Ghandi have done? There you go...

Jocelyn said...

You are very matter of fact here, yet you've got me kind of teary for some reason. I guess it's the genuine emotion you're feeling and how carefully you're trying to control it and, oh, gosh, I don't know.

But writing is amazing, inn't it?

And btw? I think it'd be okay for you to vent and spew a bit. You wouldn't do it in a juvenile way, and that's when ranting blog posts get old.

Moosekahl said...

You did a wonderful job of expressing both your gratitude and frustration for those who have paved a path for your children's musical talents. You have also been a constant source of smiles and laughs through the years. For all of those things, I am grateful! Thank you for sharing with us.