Now what?

I bet you are asking yourself that very question, Lent being over and all. Is Rachel going to back to blogging once a month or worse yet, once a quarter? Will I have anything to read with my morning coffee or late at night while I’m at work?

Well, I’m not going to promise to blog every single day, but I will attempt it. I’m going to do my best not to let more than one day go by without a new post. Blogging every other day is the very least I can do for you, since you all were so supportive about my Lenten project. It also gives you a chance to catch up on the reading, since I know it’s not possible for you to tune in every single day. Life is just like that.

This Lenten blog-a-thon has taught me a lot of things however. I have learned to look for blog opportunities all day and just because something seems inane or boring doesn’t mean it won’t make for a good post. There were times these last 40 days when coming up with material made me sweat actual letters: lowercase v’s and s’s, commas and exclamation marks, were draining out of my pores in hopes of finding a home on virtual paper somewhere, leaving me spent and exhausted. I didn’t always come up with something or may have been too tired to move my fingers along the keyboard, but there were times when I was successful. Creativity is a process that requires feeding, just like the pea seedlings in my garden. I can’t always come out to the garden expecting a harvest. There are times I’m really going to have to work on it. I mean I’m good, (sometimes damn near perfect) but I’m still going to have to give it some effort.

I also figured out that writing at night is not the best for me. Ideally my blog should be finished by 4 or 5 p.m. if it’s going to get posted without tears. Mine and my children’s. Once the kids come home and the night wanes on, there are too many things happening in the house to be productive at the keyboard. Plus I like to enjoy a glass of wine or perhaps a cold beer (now that Sam’s Summer is back, Hallelujah!) with dinner, which of course puts my muscles in slow motion and encourages my need for serious butt-time on the couch.

I’ve also come to terms with the fact that every blog can’t be a winner. Not every post will make you pee your pants with laughter or inspire people to comment, and some may be downright puny and uninteresting. But how is that any different from my life? To quote John Denver, “Some days are diamonds and some days are stones.” I can’t expect my blog to be different, especially since it’s a reflection of my life.

So continue to tune in. If you feel so inspired, post this link to your Facebook page and share with your friends. I’m also going to try to increase my readership for the remainder of this year and need your help to do that. Help me. Please, please help me. (Now you know exactly how my therapist feels.)

Thanks for reading.