well, long time no see! i'm not sure if anyone noticed or not, but after a blogging hiatus, i made my blog private last fall. i guess i felt the need to withdraw a bit. since becoming a mother, i've actually felt that way in many aspects of my life. that's probably something a lot of new mothers go through. it probably has something to do with all the medical junk i've been going through this year as well.
but tonight i got the crazy idea to try my hand at writing a post again. i'm a sharer by nature. i'm choosing to say "sharer" and not "oversharer" because i don't really like the term oversharing. i think sharing is a generous thing, and i don't like to put a limit on generosity. anyway, i feel most comfortable when the people in my life actually know me, like the real, past-the-surface me. and that goes both ways. i want to know the real them too. i'm drawn to other people who look for this in their relationships too. i approached blogging in the same way. except with blogging, i didn't actually know who i was talking to. i imagined a group of like-minded women (for the most part; i know some like-minded men read my blog too) who read my blog as if they were just checking in with a friend, and that's how i wrote my posts - as if i were talking to those friends, those kindred spirits (don't we all just LOVE that phrase?? i sure do!). and i think a lot of the people who read my blog were really how i imagined them to be! but then i started noticing that there were other people here too. people who weren't checking in on a friend. people who enjoyed criticizing me, my life, my choices, my stories, all that stuff. and when your blog is personal and real and open and honest, that kind of criticism can really get to you. it turned me off to this whole thing and made me reconsider what i wanted to share and where i wanted to share it.
and then i just got busy being a momma! and blogging was just the last thing on my mind! the posts i wrote were just for the purpose of recording things i didn't want to forget. but i didn't really enjoy that kind of blogging. it felt more like work. and i really just wanted to be using my hands, making something tangible. i've missed tangibility over the last few years. there's just something so wonderful and therapeutic and beautiful about making something with your hands. even if that something isn't all that great. even if it's just a piece of ikea furniture! so i decided to start recording all those things i didn't want to forget in a new way. i started scrapbooking. like with paper and tape and photos and stickers and all that good stuff! and i love it! i really really love it! i love that i'm recording precious memories and that i'm expressing my creativity and exploring new things. and i love that i'm creating something really valuable for my family. i'm recording our history! and even if we all look back on the pages i've created one day and think, "yikes! that's an awful lot of pink!"i know we'll all see the love i put into them, and we'll be grateful that i took the time to write those things down and print those photos and make it all look pretty.
so i think i'd like to start sharing this part of my life here on my blog. the things i create. the ways i'm preserving these memories and stories and maybe the other things i create too. i'd love to connect with other scrapbookers here! or just other people who enjoy making stuff with their hands. or even people who just like to read about other people making stuff! that's pretty fun too!
I have enjoyed you sharing your life the couple of years I've been following you. I've always thought you were very brave!
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the creating something tangible for our families. I'm currently working on a quilt for my baby and it feels like a magnum opus!
Ohhhhh! I want to start quilting SO bad. But I also want to master embroidery and calligraphy and start dabbling in watercolors and more headband making... haha! Too many interests! Not enough time. I'll bet your baby's quilt will be gorgeous! They'll always treasure it. :)
DeleteI'm glad you're back!! :D
ReplyDeleteglad to see you back on here lady! i love me some scrapbooking- yours are gorgeous! i don't get to do it as often as i'd like but i'm always on the lookout for cute paper or stickers or really, anything else that can go in a book! i've been wanting to try project life but just haven't yet. i love seeing your pages that you share on ig, they're so pretty and thoughtful.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! :) I can totally relate to always being on the lookout for cute paper and such. Shopping for supplies is pretty much a separate hobby from scrapbooking for me. Haha! I love it so much! I started project life last year but decided to put my album on hold a few months ago. I plan on picking it up again at some point this summer... we'll see. I'm really enjoying focusing on Cecily's babybook for now. I hope you can get some scrapping time soon! It can be so hard to find the time!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're back! Can't wait to "catch up"!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you're back Jasmine!
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you're back. I check in frequently and was so excited to see these posts! :)
ReplyDeleteYAY!!!! so glad you're back :)
ReplyDeleteAHHHH I HAD NO IDEA YOU POSTED. omg omg omg i missed your words online. you're so thoughtful and wonderful.
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