Top Ten: Reasons We Blog

Top Ten Reasons We Blog:

1. To keep friends and family posted on K, O, and M's goings on's and our life (this was the original intention of the blog; we thought just our mothers would read it and maybe our sisters). I started the blog because it took a lot less time to write a blog post and upload a few pictures than it took to email (and attach photos) numerous people on a regular basis. As much as many readers seem to think this must be a huge time sink for us, it actually takes up a lot less time than it used to take me to try to keep people semi-updated on our crazy lives.
2. To create an historical document/journal/scrapbook of this wild ride (we quickly realized how awesome it would be for our kids to read these sort of details about their childhoods someday far in the future... we would love to know some of this stuff about our lives-- and would love to see these sorts of photos of daily life; we have absolutely no idea if K, O, or M will ever care to read even one post, but we're posting in large part for them nonetheless). Our life seems to be the opposite-of-mundane; it is never ever boring and there is always some funny story to tell; we wanted a way to get that down somehow so that we'd remember it (and the blog format seemed to work for us since we're both working at computers so much).
3. To be out there in the blogosphere -- loud and proud -- doing what we can to support other adoptive/inter-racial families and dual-career families in their journeys (slowly we began to realize what our blog means to some of our readers; we get these really, really powerful emails and comments sometimes --pretty regularly actually-- that make us think, 'wow this thing is really important to some people out there'... and that has now become a motivator to keep on keepin' on with it).
4. To journal. This is for H only, really. I wrote in a journal daily from the time I was 15 years old (and met Deb Beaupre, who turned me on to the power and importance of journaling) until I met Braydon at age 21. I swear that journaling was my saving grace during those tough and turbulent years of my life. I gave it up when I met my soulmate because I suddenly didn't feel the need to keep a journal anymore. But I did miss it. This blog has renewed my love of journaling. This is a completely different form than my previous journals, and it contains completely different kinds of content, but it feels very similar in some ways. Journaling is very therapeutic and cathartic for me. It helps to maintain my mental health. This blog is a nice release/exhale/deep breath for me.
5. To explore a creative outlet. Braydon and I are both very creative people and our current lives leave very little room for many aspects of our creativity. This blog has helped to give us a little space to be a little creative. It doesn't nearly satisfy us creatively, but it is a little 'band aid' in this temporary period of our lives known as '30-somethings-with-big-careers-and-young-children'... the blog helps us to expel a little tiny tidbit of our creative energy.
6. To end our days on a high note. We usually blog at night. We don't spend a ton of time doing it (you'd be surprised how quickly most of these posts are written), but it has become a really wonderful, reflective, positive way to end the day. For me (H), this is especially true. So much so that on nights that I don't blog, I actually miss it.
7. To share generously.
8. To give freely.
9. To spread the love.
10. To express the joy.