Monday, May 18, 2009

Blah

Clearly I've been taking a little time off from blogging lately, and somehow I feel compelled to explain my absence before returning to regular posts. I guess my hiatus started the day before Easter when I got hit by the bug that's been going around town (and no, it wasn't the swine flu), which plopped me in bed for 3 straight days. Normally, I think I would have taken advantage of the days off work with no responsibilities around the house to blog my little heart out, but I felt so awful, even typing while in bed was laborious. Plus, missing Easter completely was a huge bummer, which contributed to a general mood of BLAH. To top it off, I'd been feeling slightly depressed about my lack of readership in general (note to self: don't post polls that will point out how few of your friends actually read your blog), so when I was gone for three days and no one really seemed to notice, I started feeling like maybe this whole blogging thing was just a colossal waste of time.

So for the next couple of weeks, I took a breather from blogging while pondering some "serious" questions. Is my blog worth writing at all if half the time it seems like I'm writing for myself? Should I continue to blog even if very few of my friends and family members actually check my blog regularly? Do I spend entirely too much time worrying about whether my posts are entertaining and informative? Does anyone actually care?

It took me a while to answer these questions and the many others I was asking myself, but ultimately, I answered yes, yes, yes, and yes. Yes, I think it's worth writing even if it's just for me, which means that yes, I should still do it even if no one ever checks it regularly! I love being able to go back and read about the important and not-so-important milestones of our mundane lives, even if it just means being able to definitively know when we resided our house or when we last visited my dad in Athens or when Celtic had his last surgery or when we actually adopted Fresco officially or when we rescued the stray dog in our neighborhood who now lives down the street from us. If I didn't write all this stuff down, I would seriously never remember when it actually happened! If for no other reason, I love keeping the blog just as a memory-jogger!

In my quest for answers I was also able to admit that yes, I do spend entirely too much time worrying about my writing skills and trying to be entertaining and worrying about posting regularly when that really shouldn't be the point. It's not like I'm ever going to make a living blogging like Dooce and Pioneer Woman, so why should it matter if every post is perfect and timely? I should just blog when I feel like blabbing and not worry about it if I don't. The perfectionist in me puts entirely to much pressure on the rest of me when it comes to blogging!

Finally, I also realized that yes, there are a few people who actually do care. After a few weeks off from posting I started getting messages from my friends about my absence, and let me just say that it was really nice to actually be missed. Thanks to all of you who continued to visit the Chatter faithfully even when I wasn't posting faithfully. Thanks to those of you who let me know you missed reading. Thanks to those of you who checked in to make sure I was okay. I appreciate you all so much!

So now that I've explained why I was gone for a few weeks, you might wonder what my excuse is for failing to blog for 38 days--yikes...has it really been that long? Let me just say that a few crazy life events have conspired against us, thereby taking up any free time previously allotted for blogging. Hopefully in the next few days I'll find the time to detail everything that's been going on!

20 comments:

matt kirkland said...

BTW: I read your blog via RSS Feed - so I'll never show up in your stats, but you can count me among your readers. :)

Angela said...

You don't know me - I donated to your walk a couple years ago - I had found your blog searching for Salina, KS. I think we emailed a couple times.

Anyway - whew! I am glad nothing was wrong. I check your blog several times a week, no I am not some crazy lurker, I just got in the habit. I enjoy your writings and am glad you are back!

Angela - Salina, KS

amber said...

You're in my Google Reader and so it was a great surprise to see Luce Chatter show up tonight! Like Matt, I don't necessarily go to your website, though a few times over the last few weeks I have, as I was afraid that maybe my Reader had deleted you or wasn't working properly! You know I've missed your entries--you were my inspiration to blog, after all! Anxious to hear how everything is going, but no pressure of course. I know I can let our blog become another thing to check off my to-do list and then I stop enjoying it (and my entries are few and far between!). You are a great writer and there are lots of people who enjoy your thoughts, your humor, and your fantastic descriptions! I am just one of many!

Jen said...

yeah! you're back!

kristin said...

Hooray! So glad you're back. I am definitely one of the many Amber mentioned. I think you have more readers than you think! :)

Gina said...

Kim,
I had wondered what happened and thought about emailing you several times to see if everything was okay. Sometimes its just good to take a break. You have a lot of catching up to do for your loyal readers!

The Faulkners said...

I was wondering about your absence but in the beginning, felt I couldn't throw stones considering how frequently I update mine. Then I was really worried something might be going on and was just getting ready to ask Erin if she knew anything (didn't want to upset you if the answer was yes!). I check your blog just about daily, glad you are back!

Paula said...

I am one of your loyal readers! I check it every morning!!!!

jake said...

A world without the Chatter is not a world I want to live in! Welcome back to the blogosphere!

AmyD said...

YAY! Kim's back!

AmyD said...

And, even though we ALL missed you, don't ever feel guilty for taking some time for yourself. You know that already, but reminders never hurt! ;)

Caylyn said...

Now I feel obligated to chime in. I have you on my RSS feed, so I read all of your posts, and I enjoy them!

EmilyG said...

As a fellow occasional slacker blogger, I say it's totally OK to take a break every now & then. You're on my google reader list so I definitely read every post. :) I had noticed you hadn't been blogging much, but 38 days!!! Wow, that time flew...where have I been? ;)

cw said...

Good to have you back! In the blogging sense, of course. I've been with you almost daily for the past 5,475 days.

So I've got that going for me, which is nice.

amanda warren said...

Whew, so glad to see a new post today... the "Cat Burglar" post popping up day after day was making me very worried. :) I really love reading your blog, even if I don't comment all that much. You bring a fun, interesting and thought provoking moment to my day, so I'd miss totally it! A hiatus is fine, but get back to it girl! ;)

Kelly said...

Me too, me too, me too! I'm a loyal reader and I missed you! Glad you're back...I love the mundane :)

Erin said...

She's baaaaccckkk! So glad I don't have to stage an intervention. Missed you!!!

Leah B said...

Kim -
Even though we only know each other through Emily, I love reading your blog. It brings me closer to the things that I love: Lawrence, the Humane Society, blogging... etc. I'm really glad to see that you're back, and I've missed reading your posts (you're funnier than you give yourself credit for). Continue to do what you love, because its a passion, not a job.

Beth said...

Kim - It's clear we all LOVE your blog, and we LOVE you, and we LOVE the way you tell stories!!!!!!!!

It's almost as good as a Kim story in person, which is to say, wholly entertaining, inspiring, and hilarious. You are the best, and lucky for us all, you're BACK! Thanks for changing your BLAH status to HOORAH! :)

Oh, and Chad's comment was funny, too. I kinda wish Chad would start a "one liners" blog in which he posted a single comment/thought, and let us all just die of laughter from it.

James said...

I also keep up with your blog via Google Reader, and have been surprised by not seeing any new posts lately. I enjoy reading what you've been up to, or funny/interesting things you've discovered, so I'm glad to read you're not going to stop posting!