Until yesterday I was convinced I had published my first blog post in May of 2021. Turns out it was April 24th.
This means today marks one year of blogging. There will be no brass band, layer cake or confetti, but it seemed fitting to mark this milestone with a bonus post.
After wanting to write for over a decade, I hit publish at 4:25 pm on a Saturday afternoon. And then I hit publish 231 more times. Because that’s the way to do just about anything in life. Do it once and then repeat.
A special thanks to everyone who joins me in this space. Your words have been encouraging, insightful, thought-provoking, and downright funny.
Header photo by marianne bos on Unsplash
I love your blog! Congratulations!
Thanks, Angela!
Congratulations! I wonder how many words you’ve written – your posts are generally a little longer, so I bet it would be a big number!
Thanks, NGS!
I love this comment: you’re so delightfully diplomatic – saying my posts are “generally a little longer” is a bit like telling someone in the path of a rogue wave that they “might get a bit damp.”
Your comment inspired me to check. As of today (I export the text from blog posts once a month in case something goes down) – I had written 247,791 words. So…a pretty big number!
Okay, you sent me down a rabbit trail. I didn’t have much context:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone = 77,325
Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix = 257,154
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe = 38,421
The Fellowship of the Ring = 187,790
So…slightly less than the longest Harry Potter book, but about 6.5 The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobes…
Rogue wave…. Hilarious!! 😂😂 Love this response!! Too funny.
And, congrats!!! I do vote for a mariachi band.
Thanks, Kae! (I’ll let you know what musical group ends up at my door.)
Congrats! Will there be a mariachi band instead?
Why stop there? How about you send over a barbershop quartet.
happy anniversary! I still remember when I started reading your blog. I love the clean slate of your blog design, your writing is soothing, and your stories are down to earth. I enjoy following your journey.
Thanks, Coco!
Congratulations! Happy blogiversary!
Thanks, Suzanne!
Congratulations!!! That is a LOT of words! Next up…. a novel! (Right? Just kidding.) I came a little late- discovered your blog in November, and I’ve been enjoying it ever since!
I hope people didn’t think I was comparing my writing to Tolkien or Rowling or Lewis; it was 100% for perspective. And definitely no plans for a novel in my future.
I’ve so enjoyed all our interactions, Jenny. Thanks for all your encouragements and perspectives in the many thoughtful comments you leave!
I read your blog nearly everyday and really enjoy it. Thank you.
Thanks, Shelia!
Congrats on your anniversary! I am a dinosaur that has been blogging since 2008! I have really enjoyed getting to know you since I started reading your blog, which was maybe last fall? It’s pretty darn amazing to be only one year into blogging and to have your blog recommended by both SHU and LV!
Thanks! Wow – 2008. That’s incredible.
I’ve wanted to write for a long time (and did have a very short-lived blog when A was little).
The mentions and comments from SHU and LV have been a bit surreal. And they were both huge influences in me finally pulling the trigger and acting on my “dream” of writing in an online space.
Congratulations. How exciting to start something then find out you can make it a good thing in your life. Here’s to many more years. 🥂
Thanks, Ally! I really appreciate all your kind words lately 🙂
How wonderful! Congratulations! I am so glad I found your blog. I particularly love that you have written 247,791 words (WOW!) and the rabbit hole of weighing up that count against well-known books. Brilliant!
Thanks, Alice.
Your writing continues to inspire me and I so appreciate your input here in the comments!
Fantastic, happy one year blogversary or whatever people call them these days. I love coming here to read. That is a lot of words written in a year! I have not been around quite as long as Lisa but think I might have slunk past 10 years earlier this year without even noticing! I have however had two longish pauses in that time so I think I have about seven years of writing over ten!
It’s so lovely to hear about long-term bloggers!
Congratulations! I am so glad we found each other on the Interwebs! Keep writing my friend, you have a beautiful voice.
Thanks, San!
I’m behind on reading and commenting this week. Not only is it the volume or ahem rogue wave of the length of post, but also the thoughtfulness of a life and all the fragments that are so warm, contemplative and feel like a great conversation. Congratulations on one year!
Ha. The volume is a bit much, admittedly.
Thanks for sticking around and, as always, skimming is welcome and anticipated…and doesn’t hurt my feelings in any way.
Congratulations! I am so glad i found your blog, i think we might have been sisters in the other life, i can relate to soo many routines that you described in your blog! and I thought i was the one who has chosen all those routines intuitively, from parenting to waking up to flexing the work day 🙂 please don’t stop writing!
Aw. Thanks, Irina!
Congrats on one year of blogging! Your blog and my cat Eloise share a birthday. 🙂
Awww. Happy Birthday to Eloise (which is simply the sweetest name for a cat!).
Elisabeth, it’s astonishing that your voice (one of the very few who make my “favorites” list on Feedly!) has only been active on this blog for a little over a year, now! I wonder, though – you said you had been wanting to write for over a decade. Do you think you had posts kind of, prepped in your head? That is, did all of the things you wanted to write about build up until you just HAD to write about them and put them “out there” on the internet? Your posts are so well-constructed (unlike my own stream-of-consciousness rambles…) and focus on so many important topics and ideas!
Thank you for sharing the inner workings of your amazing mind with us, for making your voice public, and for engaging with all of us who love to read your words and learn from your ideas and perspectives and thoughts. <3 I am so, so glad you are in this space, and that I am here to read it! (I just wish I were more timely in my comments… sigh…)
Hmmm. Definitely subconsciously, at least!
Your posts are wonderful, Anne!
Thanks for all the kind words, and please stop apologizing for any delay in commenting! It’s great to circle back around to posts after they’ve had a chance to ruminate!