It’s been about six months since I published a blog post, and in the year before that I only posted a handful of times. I’ve been wondering: is it time to shutter the blog? The kids are too old for me to write about them now; their stories are their own to tell. I used to summarize the theme of the blog as “raising a family in Ottawa†but I feel like the lion’s share of that work is done. And while photos have sustained the blog for the last few years, I don’t feel like I have enough to say about taking them anymore, at least not enough to keep the blog interesting and relevant.
So, is there value in me blogging any more? There’s a cost to consider. It’s not overly expensive to host the blog, and I host my photography site off the same domain, so that’s not going anywhere. More problematically, it’s been a while since I updated the look and especially the functionality. Google tells me it’s not particularly mobile friendly. I can’t even remember half the ways I hacked the code over the years and my eyes glaze over every time I think of making any changes to it. And now Flickr has a new model where the thousands upon thousands of images that I had hosted for free going way back to 2005 will now cost about a hundred bucks a year to keep, or else I’ll have a blog riddled with broken links and lost images.
Turning 50 has been a big year for me, and I have new things that I’m interested in now. I’d like to blog about my new knitting addiction (make all the things!) and I’ve been exploring Tarot cards. I’d like to have a place to talk about the food I’ve enjoyed making, the ways I’m expressing my creativity through making things, and how satisfying it is to be a woman on the far side of 50 who has figured out so many of the very same things I whined about when blog and I were both younger and less sure of ourselves.
I don’t even particularly mind that I’m likely to be talking to myself. The heyday of the blog, a dozen years ago when Lucas was the Player to be Named Later and I was up to my ears and sinking in the quagmire of parenting three under six with a tribe of online friends and followers has long since passed. I don’t mind talking to myself – I do it all the time! I’m just not sure if I’m invested enough in the idea of continuing to do the kind of updates and maintenance that I really should do. Oh technology.
I guess I’m not quite ready to say goodbye, or even see you later. Maybe I’ll just putter around here for a while, without any pressure or expectations from myself, and if I decide I’m going to keep on keeping on, one day when I’m full of energy and enthusiasm I’ll look into overhauling the works. If a girl can grow and change and mature, her silly old blog can follow suit, right?
I’m in the same place. I haven’t written anything for mine in a year and a half, because I’ve been HAPPY. My kids are too old for mommy-blogging now, and I’ve been putting a lot of effort into myself. I’m not ready to take it down, but am enjoying doing my own thing without writing about it. I hope you find a decision that works for you. FWIW, I always enjoy reading the things you write. 🙂
Ah, I have missed your blogs – so happy to see this one! I hope you will keep doing them when you feel like it:). I don’t even consider what your blog looks like or how recently you have updated it (never much one for change!) as I just enjoy your writing and style of humour.
I still check your blog from time to time to see if there’s an update…
Consider this a vote for keeping it. But if you don’t, consider printing it out if you haven’t already. Someday your boys or spouses or (maybe) grandchildren will want to read it.
If you do decide to keep writing here, I’d be interested in hearing about your knitting and making adventures. Also, 50! Woo! Virtual high five from a 51 year old. Whatever postcards you feel like sending would be fine with me.
I hope you will keep it. I got a little excited when a new post from you came up in my feed – so I’m definitely interested in your thoughts on crafting/turning 50/empty nesting/where life goes from here. I always said for myself that the theme of my blog is “me,” and that’s why I come here – to hear all about you and what you’re doing lately, whatever that may mean.
I personally continue to value my blog as a place to just capture small things and thoughts. Not every post is as meaningful or moving as they were when the kids were young, but I still like having a diary (with an audience, of course, because aaaatttention) – I often find myself going back even over the last year and valuing the stories I captured of the time. I like to think generations to come will want to know their grandmother/great-grandmother/great-great-grandmother in her own voice. So I vote keep!
Oh my goodness, I honestly didn’t think there were that many of you still listening. Five comments?? Plus two emails! That’s seven times more responses than I had even hoped for, or needed to keep going.
Thank for you caring, and for letting me know you’re still out there. I still have a lot to say, so let’s forget about SEO and keywords and alt text and just chat like it was 2005 again. I just realized it was 15 years ago this week that I launched the blog in the first place – as good a time as any to start again and keep on keeping on.
I too check in regularly to see if you’ve posted anything new, and I’d love to read more posts on this phase of life. I’ve found the most liberating part of being over 40 has been not feeling the same pressure to do things people want me to do — so no pressure!!! – but if you still want to share, I will still be here reading about your adventures!!!
It’s interesting to see some ‘old’ faces popping up in my reader…I used to read you and Lynn and Andrea and Annie when my kids were younger, but many of you dropped off.
I continued blogging and found a new tribe…it’s been so fun to get to know people, men and women, around the world who are either raising teens, or about to be empty-nesters, or experienced empty nesters. Then there’s the grandmas and granpas…They are such fun to read! I can’t believe how many midlifers, and seniors, have taken to blogging.
Anyway, it’s interesting to see some of the previous bloggers come back. Looking forward to more posts.
(I used to blog at Javaline, but I dropped that when the kids got older and started my new blog.) I still occasionally talk about family stuff, but it’s not the main focus. Right now I’m in a ‘omg family is driving me crazy’ part of a phase, but when I get out of that I dabble in writing topics, midlife topics, women topics, or really just about anything else. It’s a different ball game now that the focus isn’t so much on raising young ones…
Anyway. Nice to see you blogging again. I still read Turtlehead too! 🙂
Hey Claudette, I remember Javaline. Will check out your new blog!