One Year Ago Today...

 …I started this blog.  I wasn’t sure what I wanted it to become.  I had been saying I wanted to write a book and my husband asked if I ‘had a book in me’.  I was not sure how to take that, but I thought I would start with a blog and see if I could keep up with the demands that it entailed while carrying on with my already over-booked life. 

I started out posting one entry a day. I thought of Julie in the movie Julie and Julia.  She cooked a total of 524 recipes in 365 days from Julia Child’s cookbook and posted about the meals each day.  I loved that movie but felt her stress.  Not only did she have to work each day, but she also had to come home and cook a new meal and then write about it.  Even though that was a fictitious story, I was up for the blog challenge and felt the need to finish up a full year of blogging.

At first, one entry a day was not a problem at all because I had so many stories bursting out of my head. I didn’t want my blog to be about one specific subject with a narrow audience.  This was appealing to me because I could write about anything I wanted, trying out different topics.  After a few months though, I slowed down to one post a week.  Life was busy and although I loved writing, it was getting stressful putting the pressure of one entry a day on my plate.  Being an English teacher, I don’t just write.  I write, edit, let it sit, re-read it, edit more, let it sit again …etc. until finally I post.  This all takes time.

So what did I learn in a year?  Looking back at my first entry, I learned not to shop at the outlet stores on the day after Christmas.  I learned that some topics elicit strong emotions (gun control) and others bring out similar childhood memories for my readers as they do for me.  I discovered that my immediate and extended family love reading my posts and I enjoy passing on what I think of as a public diary of events and thoughts, as I remember them. 

The most popular posts with readers were:

1. Twas the Day After Christmas (my first post): http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2011/12/twas-day-after-christmas.html

2. The Dalai Lama’s visit:  http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-dalai-lamas-visit.html

3. 12-14-12 (last week’s post): http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/12/12-14-12.html

4.  The Neighborhood Show: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-neighborhood-show.html

5.  Finders Keepers:  http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/08/finders-keepers.html

The least read entries were:

1. Visiting a Navajo School: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/01/visiting-navajo-school.html

       2. The Barbary Apes in Gibraltar: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/01/barbary-apes-in-gibraltar.html

      3. The Earthquake I lived through: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/01/earthquake-i-lived-through.html

       4. Slides: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/02/slides.html

       5. The sense of smell: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/02/importance-of-sense-of-smell.html

       6. Learning a second language: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/02/learning-second-language.html

       7. The Sistine Chapel: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/01/sistine-chapel.html

It makes me feel good when I run into someone who mentions they enjoy reading my blog.  I also like seeing one of my posts shared on Facebook by a reader.  I enjoy reading comments that people post on my entries too.  

So do I have it in me to continue?  As long as I have readers, I will continue to write.  When I don’t have anything to say, I promise I won’t just post a junky entry for the sake of posting something.

As we approach 2013, here are the top 11 things I look forward to, in no particular order.  I anticipate some of them working their way into future posts.

       1. Our younger son’s graduation from Berklee College of Music (no more tuition payments!) 

       2. Leading my 5th student trip to Europe in June for 10 days to Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Munich.

       3. Going on our second annual girls weekend to LBI with the girls in my family.

       4. Hosting my 4^th annual high school reunion party in September.

       5. Reaching my one-year anniversary for my new knee in March.

       6. Learning more Italian so my oral speaking skills get even better.

       7. Making more time for photography in my life.

       8. Continuing to lead RMAC (Ridgefield Music and Arts Center) in my 7^th year as its president, but looking for a replacement soon.

       9. Going to Sedona for Spring Break      

     10. Spending quality time with my family.

     11. Teaching my students…I am fortunate to love the work I do.

Happy New Year!