Writing Writer Writes

This blog will be a decade old in a few months. Hard to believe in some ways.

I am by nature a reminiscer, so I like to think back on things… where they began and how they evolved.

When I started writing little snippets about my life as a mother of 1.5 kids and a wife, back in 2006, I honestly had NO IDEA what this space would eventually mean to me (I know I have said this multiple times before, don’t care).

I’ll save a lot of that for later this year, when the “anniversary” actually happens, but for now I want to write about one particular thing this little ole blog has done for me.

This space made me a full-fledged writer.

If I had never started this blog, I wouldn’t be in the position I am now – published many other places online, having some essays in books. The connections I have made through this little spot on the internet are priceless.

Years ago when I realized other people were reading and being affected by MY words, I was encouraged. I was inspired. I was desperate. Desperate to get my words “out there”, into the universe. To have someone else’s eyes on them, other than my family and good friends.

I wanted to be heard. I wanted others to FEEL something from what I had to say.

And I wanted to be good at it.

I’ve been writing for a long time. Words are my friends and the feelings that go with them help guide my posts here and other places. I’m not particularly funny in my writing, I would say I lean more towards the sentimental. Most of the writing on this site comes from experiences I have garnered during my life. I started writing here at the suggestion of a friend at church, those many years ago. I wonder if she knows that she changed my life, in ways that cannot be measured. Who knows if I would have started blogging for some other reason… perhaps. But I do not know otherwise, because that is how it all started, here, in this place.

I will admit, sometimes it’s still hard to call myself a “writer”. However, I am going to do it anyway because I am one! Giving in and letting that word be a true part of me is a powerful thing. There are times when a literal force has drawn me to this laptop to spill out what I need to “say” and sometimes it gets published and other times it just sits, for months or even years at a time.

I don’t claim to be the best writer or everyone’s “cup of tea”, but my experiences are mine. I know someone can relate to them in some way, even to the ones that are many years old, about my babies, raising little ones and just my life in general. It’s true that we are all sharing many of the same moments.

Also, I am very grateful that my writing is featured in other places and that I occasionally get paid for it. Talk about a bonus to doing something you love!

And this year, I am most excited to announce that I won an award for a piece that was published on Mamalode:

Love Comes Back Around

I am thrilled to be honored with a Voices of the Year award at BlogHer in a week and a half! (I won’t lie, this is something I have wanted for a while).

Awards won or not, I am a writer and am thankful to be able to call myself one with confidence most of the time. And I am always ever grateful for my friends that inspire me, both online and off. Many will never know how much you keep me writing, sharing and thinking about what is next to come…