Tag!

Kerri tagged me several days ago to write about why I enjoy blogging.

I started blogging because I had a desire to write and this has been a wonderful outlet for me to do so. I haven't written as many family stories as I would have liked but I have written about all kinds of things and been very surprised that anyone else was interested!

What I didn't expect were the friendships that I'd make. I started blogging at a low point. We'd moved back home to be near family and that was great but I was feeling quite isolated. I've moved many times which has made it hard to maintain friendships. Two moves ago I was to the point that it just seemed like to much trouble to start over again and I stopped seeking out new friends. I tend to avoid true friendships at work because I've learned that a friendship gone sour can make a great job miserable. Blogging is like being a part of a very large international club. We tend to meet people with similar interests and look forward to hearing what they've been up to. If I write about a bad day or an ongoing frustration you all prop me up. And that has been very important to me. It doesn't matter what schedule we work or where we live, we can "get together" whenever it's convenient. Chances of most of us meeting offline are slim to none. I am richer for learning about life in other places.

Another unanticipated benefit for me is the opportunity to learn. The number of great gardening, genealogy and history blogs is mind boggling. I'm certain that I've barely scratched the surface. When I decided to start a garden I looked for resources online but some of the best and most helpful information is written by bloggers. Want to know how to knock down a brick wall? The genealogy bloggers either have the answer or will help you find it.

It had been years since I really worked at learning something new. If you go back through my archives you'll see a few posts where I declared that I hated change. I don't use a computer at work and I found every new program or upgrade a hassle. I really thought anything "techie" was beyond me. It took me weeks to figure out how to upload pictures. At some point I decided that if everyone else could figure out how to do this or that with their blog so could I. Nobody was more surprised than me when I learned the basics of html! I have much to learn as became evident during scanfest but I'm no longer afraid to try.

Now I'll ask Sissy, Pea, and Miriam why they enjoy blogging.