Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Why I Blog

I realized the other day why I enjoy blogging. There are a lot of cynics out there, who very correctly point out that 90% of the "blogosphere" is self-aggrandizing garbage. This is true, and I aim not to fall into this camp of shameless "look at me" self promotion. I don't do it for you. I do it for me.

I blog for two very important reasons. The primary motivation is to share the events of my family with my friends and extended family, both local and far away. I have a small readership (which suits me just fine) of dedicated readers who are always eager to learn the latest travails of Eddie, Luke and the rest of us. Plus, my own sons enjoy putting their own artwork and adventures on the blog. Often they'll come up to me and say, "Dad! I want you to put this on your blog!" And I usually do. The blog has become a family blog, a journal of our own little foursome's history. I'd like to think that in 20 years, we'll all still go back through the old blog archives reading fondly of the old days. In fact, I joke that when I hit sixty, and senility sets in, I'm just going to strap myself into my wheelchair, go back to the beginning of the blog, and hit "play." Let the second half of my life be as good as the first, all over again.

The other reason I blog is a little more esoteric. I realized last Sunday, while driving the kids to Sunday school, that by blogging, and doing it nearly every day, I am forced to pay attention to the small stuff. I'm constantly "on the prowl" looking for things worthy of blogging. Though it may not appear to be the case, I don't want to blog about every mundane fact of life. I've read blogs that read like, "Today, we got up, took the kids to school, watched television, ate dinner, and went to bed. Repeat." No thanks. Too boring.

Instead, by selectively looking for the best parts of each day, I am forced to appreciate the good stuff, and how truly blessed our lives are. By realizing this, I reach a very high level of contentment. When life is good, the bad stuff--be it stress at work, car problems, a long commute, whatever--doesn't seem to matter as much. If I didn't blog, I'd probably take all of what I have in my life for granted. And that wouldn't be good.

So, my dear readers, I'll ask you to continue to indulge me as I write about my family and our life together. But if you all drop away from the blog, that's okay, I'll still be here, happy and blogging away.

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