Rocking in the chair, nursing my new baby, I often found myself dozing after a few minutes. If I could keep myself awake though, I felt a little…bored. During those early days of marathon nursing sessions, especially in the middle of the night, I needed something to occupy myself. An outlet of sorts.
Reading a book or magazine while nursing or pumping was near impossible. I didn’t have an e-reader or even an iPhone then. So while I sat and rocked, my mind thought of the many things I didn’t know about how to be a mother, about how scared I was and how very, very tired I felt. I nursed my baby while tears fell down my face, feeling very much alone.
There’s nothing like feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders while you are awake with your new baby at 3am.
Then one day, before I sat down in the familiar glider in my new daughter’s room, I pulled it out of its box. A brand new laptop. It had been sitting for several weeks, forgotten by the chaos of a household with a new baby. I set it on the nightstand next to the glider and opened up a new world.
I had no idea there was such a huge world of bloggers out there. It seems astonishing now, but I never read any before. I sat and read blogs written by mothers, about how hard mothering can be, how tiring, how imperfect. Mothers confessed to bad days, tempers, fears of messing up. I read about lack of sleep, exploding diapers and painful nursing.
I read about me.
Suddenly the overwhelming loneliness of my struggle didn’t seem to weigh me down as much. Someone out there understood, knew, had been there. I wasn’t alone, I wasn’t the first one to cry, to be scared, to be completely knocked over by this thing called motherhood. It was more real than the real people in front of me.
And so after a few weeks, my own blogging journey began. I wrote about the hard times and the good times. I wrote about how I was struggling. And you came. You reached out, told me it was all ok. I made friends, friends came to visit, friends called. Others reached out on twitter and email. It was a relief to know I wasn’t alone.
I’m 2 years into motherhood, which means 2 years into blogging. There are days where I can’t find my voice to write and days where I write about the mundane. But I have found a place to write about what’s on my heart and mind and I’ve been encouraged and buoyed by people, many of whom I’ve never met in person.
Hard to believe all of this started by opening a little silver box.
love this!
Robbie recently posted..Soon
Thank you Robbie!
Isn’t it amazing, how blogging can literally save our lives? I am ever so grateful for my blog, the friends I’ve made, the opportunities that has come my way. And to have met you. xoxo
Alison recently posted..The Things They Do
It is amazing. It’s hard to understand though until you’re actually in it.
Some people don’t understand what I do or why I do it, but blogging has opened up a world of opportunities and friendships for me. I’m beyond grateful for that.
Kimberly recently posted..The Real Reasons Why I Had Kids
It is very hard to explain to someone not involved in social media. I think that’s why I don’t talk about it a lot. But yeah, the friendships are very real.
I am so glad that you did too. You’re a beautiful writer that not only connects with me but with so many others. That’s how much power your voice has.
Congrats and I look forward to this ride with you. xoxo
Kimberly recently posted..Three Letters
Thank you, Kimberloo. Thank you, thank you. I’m so glad to have connected with you.
I wish I’d found blogging when mine were that young- it really does help to hear how many others feel the same way.
Shell recently posted..Reading Kingdom: Helping My Kids Read and Write
It helped tremendously. I felt like a lot more people were honest on their blogs.
This is so perfect.
I’m glad you opened that silver box.
Tracie recently posted..The Tuskegee Airmen: They Dared To Fly
I am so glad I did too!
I can’t remember why I started blogging, but I do remember feeling how great it was to know there were people out there who were like me. Happy 2 year bloggiversary!
Amanda Austin recently posted..How to clean up nail polish on cuticles
It was a huge relief. I felt like I connected more–not to mention it was easier at the time when I was stuck at home all day!
We started blogging around the same time! My anniversary is in March…and I think we found each other not too long after we both started. So glad we’ve gotten to share this journey together!
Natalie recently posted..Operation Re-Cover Pillows
I remember “meeting you!” I’m so glad we’ve shared our journey too, esp since our kids are close to the same age. It’s been great bouncing advice/questions off of each other!
I think that is why so many of us keep blogging and reading blogs as that connection, that knowing that there are others out there that understand, are going through what we are. It is so wonderful to have that comfort.
Emmy recently posted..Ten Things to Smile About: February
It really is wonderful. I’ve gotten so much encouragement and advice.
I had no idea the blogging world existed either until I joined twitter and stumbled upon some bloggers tweeting. I was hooked. It was so nice to find people like me were out there. So glad we met in this awesome blogging adventure.
Denise recently posted..Side Effects Can Suck It
I’m so glad too! It really does open up a huge world, doesn’t it?
What a beautiful post!
I think that’s one of the best things about blogging….knowing that you’re not alone.
Thank you! Yes, it’s a comfort knowing that.
I’m so glad you’re writing to the world – to all of us out here who want to listen to your words. Blogging is turning out to be even more personal to me than I imagined.
Thank you so much for that! I’m glad there are people out there reading my words (and hopefully being encouraged by them too!)