Blog World

Since I began this blog, I have learned a lot about the Blog World. It is a subculture to which I was completely oblivious before this year. But it is fascinating and I have learned many things, including the following:

1. Becoming a Follower is more for the benefit of the blogger than the reader. A lot of people have asked me, "How can I get e-mail updates every time you post something new to your blog?" And the answer is, for the most part, you really can't. That's not the way it works. The point of blogging is to draw people into your blog, not to send mass e-mails. The blog is like a journal that you leave out on the shelf with a note attached saying, "Read me if you want to." You can visit the shelf every day to see if there is something new there, or you can pass by occasionally when the thought crosses your mind and then flip back and read multiple entries. Or you can ignore the book altogether. You can tell the author that you've been reading her journal, or you can secretly read it and never let her know. Any of these options is totally acceptable. So why become a Follower? Well, it's to show support for the blogger, to let her know that you are interested in what she has to say, and to keep your own list of blogs you follow. I have twelve Followers now, up from my original two (mom and sister.)

2. It is totally okay to follow the blogs of people you don't know. This is how you can form support networks of people all over the world who have something in common with you. How do you find these fascinating blogs? You click on someone's profile and there will be a list of "Blogs I Follow." Some people post this list on their own blog. Or you can Google it... type in "Adoption Blog," for instance, and you'll get 16 million hits.

3. Blogs are much more interesting with pictures. I have been very text-heavy in my blogging so in an effort to entertain, I'll be including more pictures in my posts. Pictures are most enjoyable when they feature children; however, we have no children, hence the inspiration for this blog. So here is a picture of our future child's room. I have painted an accent wall, purchased a toy box, a colorful bedspread and some pillows and hung a couple of small kid-like things on the walls. Not knowing the age or gender of the child does make it a bit challenging to decorate, but I've been having fun doing so anyway.






4. In order to hold the interest of one's blog readers, it is important to post regularly, even if you don't really have any news to report. So I'll be making a greater effort to post weekly. Or at least biweekly.

One of my readers recently told me, "I read your blog and I felt really sad." Yeah, I guess that Back Story post was a whopper. I started thinking, wow, this really is kind of a depressing blog. But then another reader told me, "Thank you so much for all the things you write on your blog. It makes me feel better to know that someone understands what I am going through." So I'll continue with the brutal honesty, but maybe sprinkle in a little sugar and spice every now and then too.

Halloween was interesting. Early in the day, I started to feel a bit depressed because last year at this time, I totally thought I would be taking my own kids out Trick or Treating and really, who knows when that will happen for us. But as soon as the doorbell rang, I was having loads of fun handing out candy. We got record numbers of Trick or Treaters. I would say between 100-200. Sometimes in groups of 15-20 at a time. Next year we will tally up the numbers. That is, if we're not out Trick or Treating with our own kids.

I am totally over the loss of Kayden. The loss of not being picked to be Kayden's mom, that is. Twelve days. That is how long it took me to recover. I think it could have been less if I hadn't been also remembering my two year miscarriage anniversary. Really I think twelve days is a healthy grieving period. If we get selected for a Red File every 60 days, that means I will only be depressed 20% of the time! Okay, maybe I need to cut the time down. Next time, I will give myself six days to get over it. Or maybe next time we will be picked...

As for today, I am happy. My husband just got home from his evening of football watching with his guy friends, so we're off to walk the dogs now. And I'm going to stop blogging because at this point, everything I write is just inane.