I think the best response I've seen to the death of Osama Bin Laden popped up on Facebook:
"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
--MLK, Jr.
Was his death "justified?" Oh, absolutely. Thousands of times over, by law. Am I comforted he isn't out there, waging war against us? Yes. But I'm not HAPPY he's dead.
Phew. OK, got that out of the way.
I've been thinking about my blogs, too. DIY Mama. The Chow Review. Mormon Mommy Blogs. And that little blog I started for family. I have to wonder, why do I have all these blogs? Why am I blogging?
The family blog, for now, is completely neglected. It had turned into photos with captions, read by about 5 family members...who all have access to my Flickr account. The ones who don't get updates, I send them (her...hi Mom!) e-mails when some great photos pop up.
DIY Mama is where I keep track of everything crunchy that we're learning about. We've learned a lot in the last few years, and want a place to keep track of what we've done and what we've tried, and I want to keep a record for anyone else interested in what we're doing, and maybe giving it a whirl. Things like gardening, home schooling, attachment/Waldorf/love and logic/it makes sense to ME parenting skills. How to make things naturally and cheap. Off the beaten track remedies and foods. You know, all that "scary" stuff that's made us so happy the last few years.
Mormon Mommy Blogs...well, I'm a monthly contributor in the "Homemaking and Everyday Life" section. And really, it's just for fun, a chance to write for a broader audience. I get a bump in "click backs" on the days my posts are live, and I enjoy checking out the blogs of like-minded mamas and papas that I find in that community. Plus...well, it just gives me a tiny ego-boost I guess to know that somebody wanted me to write there, when I applied! (I've had opportunities to write for other online avenues, but they weren't good fits.)
The Chow Review is still, as it's always been, a place for my family (Hi Aunt LoLo! Hi Uncle Bear!) to store recipes we L.O.V.E. Recently, my sister updated our bread section with home made cinnamon chips, and her favorite bread recipes. Recipes for the SAME bread she sells to paying customers. It's that good.
This blog here, I Wonder Woman, I think I'd been the most confused about. It started out as a "family" blog, writing about silly things my daughter did and said. Then, I started learning how to make simple gifts for cheap to satisfy my "want" to give presents to EVERYONE without spending beyond our limited student-budget means. I started writing a few tutorials to give back to the community a bit, and they were pretty popular. (Especially these earrings, holy cow!) I started thinking I needed to be a craft blog, since that's why people were coming. Unfortunately, I don't always have time to craft, and it turns out that I'm just not that good at it. Ha. (It's just the truth- I can't even use a glue gun properly!) I still love to craft, but most of all I love making new connections, and writing about what I see. You could shorten that to "I just love to write what I know."
And, obviously, now that I've written this whole spiel out, I'll go on a craft bender. Hee.
Do you ever stop and think about WHY you blog? Or what you blog about, really?
7 comments:
oh, I wonder ALL the time. (Umm...hello, Suburban Housewife Uprising!) Some blogs are a great idea, but if they aren't an extension of what you already do in your day-to-day activities, then they won't fly. You have the unique situation of finding the bloggers out in the world who want to read ALL of your blogs. So...just keep writing about anything you want to write about, and post it to whatever spot fits best! If you truly feel like it's the same people reading in all the feeds, then you might want to just post on one of your blogs. (Chow Review, by the way, is picking up a following, at least among my friends!)
I think you know I blog mostly to share what we're doing and as an outlet for writing.
Why? To fulfill my unrequited desire to take over the world and have everyone know what I'm doing. Or something like that.
I like that MLK quote a lot. I blog because I think it's a lot of fun and because it's an easy way to journal. Plus, I'm made some neat friends!
Great quote!
It's a great way to meet neat people such as yourself. :) I tend to lump everything onto one blog, and I blog to share information. It's a super outlet to the world for me. Mostly I just blog about whatever catches my fancy - what interests me and keeps me inspired. I'm always hopeful that the info. will help someone save money and inspire creativity. I think this is what keeps me going.
I blog to "journal" my life....and if I get meet a few special people along the way ....that's like added candy to the basket.
I always enjoy coming here and seeing what you are doing in your part of the world....I'm just about done with my burb book...have one of every year that I have blogged. =)
{plus with my kids spread out all over the place...blogging is a good way to see what is going on.}
Thank you for your thoughts on Osama Bin Laden's death. Yeah, the whole crowds jumping up and down thing gives me pause. I also worry that the good Lord, who sees all this, will not be so pleased with us over that. I am filled with unease.
As for your blog, I love the crafts, the day-to-day and everything, the music (hint, hint)!
Have a wonderful day!
Elizabeth
I love this post. For one thing, totally with you on the Osama response--couldn't have said it better than you did. Thank you.
As for why I blog? I always dreamed of having an on-line journal where I could say what I wanted to say and people might actually read it, might actually respond. And then someone invented that! It was a dream come true! Why would I ever give it up? I'm mystified when I hear that the majority of blogs are "abandoned." I'm going on six years and I can't imagine I will ever stop until Blogger kicks me off. ;)
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