The Truth Is...
Hey there friends! I hope you're ready for a wordy and image-less post. It seems like I'm back. I mean, I'm posting a DIY project and a guest post all within a week, and now here I am, posting on a Sunday! It's kind of amazing because lately it feels like The Learner Observer has been on the back-burner, and that's not a good place to be, you know?! There are some good reasons for it though, and no they are not excuses. It's just that real life happens sometimes - yes, even bloggers have real lives! I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. After we came back from our trip, I felt quite jet lagged for what seemed like ages, but was really about 5 days. My body just could not get back to Toronto time and wanted to stay on Paris time forever. Can you blame it? No, me either. Anyway, after I got back on my feet, I realized I was a bit busy. Teaching has been busier as the Spring arrives and with it more workshops and school trips, which means substitutes like me are needed even more. It's a good thing. A GREAT thing, actually... but it means blogging comes second, and some days after being with kids all day long, my brain can't just go into DIY/writing/Pinterest/blogging mode!
The truth is...
Things are going really well.No, this is not me bragging to you about my life!Please understand that when bad things happen, I share them with you. When good things happen, I share them with you. Because you're all like my BFFs and that's for good times and bad times, right? So here's what's up. Since getting that writing gig over at Decoist (which I love love love so freaking much because it's WAY fun to do research on Pinterest and then write all about it), a few other things have happened. I have been asked to guest post on several blogs, which I won't reveal now, but will let you see them when I post about them here. It's super exciting because I love being able to share my love for all of the amazingness on the internet!The other thing that happened is I started writing for LC Living. This felt extra super exciting for me because it's a Canadian site for a Canadian store and I just loooove representin' for good ol' Canada! I'll get to shoot some Linen Chest product, try some stuff out and post about it on their blog. Pretty awesome. There's a lonely post there right now, but more to come shortly.The last thing is brand spankin' new and also kind of crazy and thrilling. I'm a contributor over at Remodelaholic. I seriously can't even believe I just typed those words because, I mean, pinch me! I guest posted for them a little while back about my kitchen hutch makeover and when I got the email asking to be a consistent contributor over the next few months, I squealed in excitement. You may not see my name on the contributors page just yet, and my first post won't go live until June, so you just have to take my word for it that it's real, alright?
The truth is...
Things are going really well.This stuff is all kind of crazy, and what it means is that I have been spending some time reading and writing a lot of emails, getting myself acquainted with a new schedule, new writing expectations and balancing it all. It feels like I'm juggling about 4 blogging balls up in the air while riding around on a unicycle, that unicycle being my life. I can't fall off and I can't let the balls drop. Sometimes this feels like it's all super fun, and sometimes it feels like "whoa, somebody grab that ball!"I am as happy as one can be about all this juggling. I just wanted to share it with you and help you understand the lack of posts and why responding to comments is taking longer than usual! I'm also still trying to read as many of my favourite blogs as possible, making my blogging buddies #1 and making sure I comment and show them love as often as I can, which is like once a week on Friday nights. That's right... I read blogs and watch Mad Men or House. FOR FUN!In the spirit of honesty, though, I have to say that blogging less on my own blog and seeing my readership stats slowly getting lower and lower is kind of a blow to the ego. Bloggers talk about numbers all the time - either about how they matter so very much or about how they don't. I don't check my stats every day. In fact, I didn't even notice a decline until I did check and thought something was seriously wrong because it was about half of what my average number of visitors used to be when I was posting regularly 3 times a week and promoting myself like crazy on social media and link parties. I guess all that hard work was paying off, or I was just getting one-time visits and now my regular peeps are just checking in on me to see if I'm still around. When I think of it that way, I feel good. It's nice to know that even if the numbers are lower, people are still reading old posts or just popping by the homepage. I feel the love, I really do. I really just hope that I'm not a giant blogging disappointment and that I'm doing the right thing by doing what I love to do - both in my personal life and in my career. The personal life part is blogging because it's a hobby, most definitely not a major source of income and certainly not something I can consider as a career choice at the moment. My career path is teaching. As a substitute teacher I am lucky to be busy and teach consistently at schools that I love, with students whom I have come to know and adore, though that is not the case every day. It's a hard thing to do, it can be uncertain, there's a lot of judging that happens on a daily basis and people aren't always nice to you. It's a lot like blogging, actually. So in my personal hobby and my professional career I feel this constant pressure. At first I crumbled beneath it, then I chose to ignore it, and now I choose to see the good in it. When people say "I'm sorry you don't have your own classroom yet" or when my stats show a lower than what I'm used to number of readers, I don't pity myself.
The truth is...
Things are going really well.I'm incredibly blessed to have a job. Period.I'm incredibly blessed to have my blog. Period.And I really mean that! No I don't love them both 100% of the time, but I love them both enough to know that I have nothing to complain about. I have met teachers and students who have helped to shape who I am as an educator, which is something you can't put a price tag on. I could write a whole book on that alone because this shaping happens each and every single day and it. is. awesome! I have met bloggers who have helped me see that it is possible to make friends online who 'get me' and to have community even from afar. They have shaped who I am as an individual and as a blogger, and I'm forever indebted to those people who also do this for me on a daily basis. This is also awesome.Life is not perfect. Ever. I am not drawing you a picture of someone who has it all together because that is so far from the truth. I just see and hear so much negativity - both in my work and blogging circles - and I'm kind of over it. I think that if we took some time to celebrate one another a little bit more in everyday life, in every aspect, in little and in big ways, we could be a whole lot happier. This quote has been shared a few times now on Instagram and a few other blog posts, and I just need to share it too.
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And I leave you with that. And an insane amount of love and hugs for being the coolest people on the planet and reading my insignificant, tiny little blog. I love you like crazy!