500 and Counting

I can hardly believe that this is Blog #500! When I wrote my first blog, more than 13 years ago, I didn't really think about how long I would keep writing blogs, and I certainly never expected to write so many. In fact, I would have never written the first one if I hadn't attended an informative session at our annual winter teachers' in-service training, where the presenter walked us through the process, step by step, so each person in attendance was able to start a blog of their own. 

I signed up for that session because I had heard a little about blogs, and I was curious to see if I could use a blog as a communication tool for the parents of my preschoolers. At that time, though, I discovered that our school district would not allow its teachers to use the new technology in that way, so I decided to write a personal blog instead.

I was exhausted when I got home after a grueling day of sessions, but I sat down at my computer after supper anyway, and began to write my first blog while the instructions were still fresh in my memory. I had been aware, all day long, of that day's date, which marked the first anniversary of my great niece, Ellie's, death from cancer. My grieving family members had been on my mind all day, so I wrote about Ellie that evening, and posted the finished blog on Facebook, just as the session leader had suggested. (You can read that first blog here.)

It wasn't long before I was writing a new blog every week, about a variety of topics. I wrote about my reaction to specific current events, about people in my family, and about my early years growing up on the farm and, eventually, in two different hotels. I wrote about the things I knew, about teaching preschool, and about kids with special needs. Sometimes I slipped in a little poetry, or a YouTube video of one of the songs I've written. Occasionally, I wrote reflections about controversies in churches, or other relevant Christian topics.

One of my initial goals was to record family history for my children and nieces and nephews. In my second blog, I promised not to preach (much), and I've kept that promise, for the most part, although I often include pertinent Bible verses and applications in many of my blogs, just because I want them to be an accurate reflection of who I am, in Christ.

Mom printed out every single blog I wrote, until she could no longer see well enough to manage it on her own. That's why I have a cardboard box packed with over 450 printed copies of my blogs, stacked in order, just in case I ever need them. Mom told me more than once that she thought writing a weekly blog was a good outlet for me and, of course, she was right. I realized that I really wasn't very good at speaking out about myself or my thoughts, so it was gratifying to find that some people I knew really wanted to get to know me better by reading what I wrote.

Dad didn't say much about my blogs, but Mom told me he would often take a printed copy of my most recent blog with him when he joined his friends for coffee at the sale barn, and give it to them to read. My husband, Bill, insists that he reads every single blog, and sometimes comments about those that are most important to him. My children don't often take time to read each blog, but I am confident that they will, someday.

I used a desktop computer when I first started writing my blog. Now, I'm on my second laptop. 

In 2015, when I retired from teaching, several people asked me what I was going to do next. My reply included these possibilities: provide additional support for Victoria and Levi in their educational pursuits, continue to write my blog, write (and share) more Christian songs, and maybe write a book or two. I'm no longer writing a new blog every week, but I still write at least one or two each month. And I'm glad to report that, by the grace of God, I've surpassed all of my other retirement goals.

When I first started writing, I had no idea that my blogging could lead to much more. As time went by, my technological savvy grew along with my confidence. I learned how to insert links, and I began to include pertinent clip art and stock photos that added interest to the content. Increasingly, as my photography skills improved, I used enhanced old family photos and my own, more recent photos to illustrate each blog. 

I had written at least three hundred blogs before I realized that I could use some of the blogs to jumpstart writing a book or two. That's when I decided to write my first book for adults, called These Kids Are Driving Me Crazy. I used parts of several blogs, as well as some new material, to compile this handbook, which is an excellent resource for anyone who works with kids whose mental health issues affect their behavior. You can purchase it here, on Amazon.

Right now, I am writing a new book called The Hotel Kids, about my unusual upbringing in two old hotels in small town Nebraska. Once again, my blog posts have given me a good place to start. I hope to have this book published by mid-summer.

If I weren't writing books, I would probably still be able to write a new blog each week, but it's a trade off I can live with. And, when my readers are wishing for more blogs, they can always re-read some of the older ones. Did you know that you can access the archives if you want to read any older blogs, using labels to find blogs about a particular topic, or you can even go back and read all of my blogs, start to finish?

My most popular blog, written in February, 2017, is entitled Love Is. It is a compilation of various quotations, from a wide variety of sources, about the topic of love. You can read it here. I am sure that the majority of readers did not find what they were expecting in this particular post.

I have always loved to look at and analyze statistics. Unless they leave a comment, I have no way of knowing exactly who reads my blogs, but my blogging app allows me to see, at a glance, just how many people read my blog each day, and which blogs they are reading. I can check daily, weekly, or monthly data, or even overall data, like I'm sharing here. 

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This chart shows that I have had more than 86,000 page views in the past 13 years. I was surprised to see that the number of page views has increased dramatically in recent months.

I've always been amazed to see that so many people from all over the world read my blog. The United States accounts for less that half of all page views! Recently, readers from Singapore and Hong Kong have been reading voraciously, but people from more that 20 different countries read my blogs regularly.

This map shows a decent breakdown of the total number of readers throughout the world.

I am convinced that God was the one who was prompting me to start writing my blog, way back in 2011. He alone knew how much I would enjoy writing it. He was the only one who knew what a world-wide impact it would make, from the very beginning. I thank him often for giving me the words and stories to write. And, I want to thank each of you for reading and commenting on my blogs. Your encouragement has meant more than you know.

It isn't unusual for God to lead us to do things we never expected to do. What is he calling you to do?