17 Years and Change

I almost couldn't believe it when my Facebook memories popped up with my "hey, come read my new blog" post, dated seventeen years ago. This blog is old enough to drive, and only a year away from voting.

My first blog post went live July 29, 2008, and was about my experience as a cast member on Julie Goodnight's TV show, "HorseMaster with Julie Goodnight".

Over the past seventeen years, I've written about horses, family, kids, pregnancy scares, marriage, death, recipes, crafts, and just about everything imaginable. I've written and published two books. I made lifelong friends through blogging. People who went from being my "internet friends" to IRL found family.

Blogging has changed. Blogs that I followed religiously are no longer in existence, new blogs are harder to find - the blog network isn't as prevalent as it once was. Or, at least, I'm not as plugged into the blog network as I once was. I think the way people consume media has changed a lot as well, and blogs just aren't a quick sound-bite of information. Vlogging is more prevalent, but I still prefer to read, and hope there are others like me.

Blogging got pretty hit-or-miss for a few years for me, and now that I'm trying to post more regularly, I'm struggling. I miss the engagement of my blog family, I miss having a window into someone's life who may be states away. Yes, other forms of social media can provide that, but I miss the realness of blogging. 

The Bionic Cowgirl and I were talking the other day, and I told her I'd wished that my grandma and great-grandma had kept diaries. They were fascinating women, but they kept their stories and struggles close to the vest. 

There's a rumor about one of the rings Mom has - my great-grandma supposedly ran wild with the James gang (or someone associated with them), and the ruby ring that she had, which has been passed down through the generations, was obtained through a robbery. Fascinating story, wish I knew more about it. Is there a piece of truth to the rumor? Or is it all fictionalized?

Grandma Nita had some skeletons in her closet; she was widowed more than once; she raised Mom as a single mother back when that just wasn't done. I'd love to have heard/read more of her life stories. 

My paternal uncle is doing a lot of genealogy work, and has shared some stories from his parents and grand-parents, but there is so much history on both sides of my family that has been lost.

Talking with Mom about it, I realized that, while I'm not one for writing in a diary, I have my blogs. My children and grandchildren will have stories. They'll have insights into our lives.

While I miss what blogging was, I can embrace this new season of blogging, as a way to preserve my history for my kids.

Sunrise over our little piece of paradise.