Follower Q&A #1

Q: How do you find the time to blog with everything else going on in your life?


A: I literally have to make the time. I've always enjoyed writing. It's my escape. It's my way of working through difficult situations. It's also my way of self-expression. Until just recently I'd completely forgotten my love for writing. I'm the type that gets super excited about receiving snail mail. I actually still hand write letters and cards to my grandparents; there's just something so special and powerful in those written words.

When I first opened my personal FB account, 9 years ago, I used it as a sort of diary for a while: "Danette is...heading to the movies with Ken tonight!" OR "Danette is...feeling nervous about our first appointment with our midwives this afternoon." Every single one of my friends on FB knew every second of my life; it was too much. When I became a mom in 2010 and the normal, every day of motherhood became the new priority in my life, FB took a backseat. It was truly a blessing in disguise. I can't tell you how many times, over the last 9 years, I'd sit down to check my e-mail or quickly scroll through FB and suddenly, 3 hours later, dinner had yet to be started and the dog was begging to be let out. Oops...there went 3 hours of my life I'd never get back again. So in the last couple of years I've limited my social media use, saving my posts for those all-too-important moments that family and friends across the country wouldn't want to miss.

But those "snippets" of our life aren't always enough. My true friends and family know they're missing so much of our lives in between the random FB posts about Girl Scout events and school activities. There was a lot more behind those one or two sentence thoughts posted for the FB world to see and I wanted to let it all be known, put it all out there...so I knew what I needed to do..."I'm going to start a blog," I told my husband one evening at dinner. "That's a great idea," he said "you love to write and you always have something to say." Thanks Babe ha! However, the big question was, how in the world was I going to incorporate this into my never-ending schedule? Not everything I have to say is prepared and ready in my head at all times. I was going to need time to gather my thoughts and to edit my posts and I was already lacking extra time in my life as it was. For a split second, it felt like I was adding another chore to the list and that's exactly what I didn't want this blog to turn into, another checklist item, so I evaluated my schedule and figured out that dedicating an hour to my writing after the kiddos went to bed wasn't a huge sacrifice from my Me Time in the evenings.

During the week our children are in bed no later than 8pm. Some evenings it's a bit earlier, around 7:30, but typically it's closer to 8. Ken and I usually go to bed around 11, so for 3 hours I have the freedom to read, watch TV, catch up on the laundry, tidy the house, clean the kitchen, start the dishwasher, sometimes I talk to my mom and sister, and now I have an hour to dedicate to writing. So, to let you in on a little secret, the blog posts you read on a day-to-day basis are usually written the evening before. 

I am truly so excited over the outcome of my blog. So far, it's exactly what I had envisioned in my head. I am always looking for feedback, though, so if there's something you don't like or something you think I should do differently or even something you don't see that you'd like me to blog about, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'm brand new to this and just learning the ropes, but I do have you all to thank for your continuous support and for the growth of my blog in such a short amount of time. If it weren't for you guys, there wouldn't be a blog, it'd quite simply be a diary, so thank you all from the bottom of my heart...

...and for those of you who may also be on the fence about starting something new in your own lives, take my advice...make the time! It's the least you can do for yourself.

*Have a question you'd like to ask? Something you'd like to know more about? Send me a message! I'd love to hear from you and I'm happy to answer your questions.