Not that many people may have known that I was gone, afterall, people still come to read the same old posts that remain the most popular or most controversial on my blog. Everyday hundreds come to read what I wrote about Miley Cyrus, Charlotte Gainsbourg and her father Serge, or they dispute the lyrics to the Gilbert O’Sullivan song, Clair. Clair Mills herself (who the song was written for) wrote a comment to set the record straight. Others come to see the six Super Bowl Rings that the Pittsburgh Steelers have won; the latest ring boasts 63 diamonds and 3.61 carats…. it’s enough to make any girl drool! Or else they comment on the ongoing saga between David, a father, fighting the Brazilian government to get back his son Sean. The most surprising and the number one post that I wrote is: How to get the anti-reflective coating off of a pair of eyeglasses with Armour Etch! (Yep! I’m not making this one up!)
The time I’ve spent away from this blog has been an eye opening experience. My problem is, I’m someone who doesn’t do things halfway. Either I do something to the best of my ability, 
or I don’t do it at all. There’s no in between, no give and take; it’s the Leo part of me that has too much pride to not do something as well as I can.
When I first started blogging I read some of the top blogs and their advice was for bloggers to blog on a daily basis; if you want people to come, they said, you need to write something new everyday, however, there are just so many hours in a day! The time spent writing a post on a daily basis means either no time for other important things that I want to do, or several hours less sleep each night in order to do it all. When I didn’t write a post, I felt like I wasn’t do my job although no one was pushing me to do it.
Thank goodness for the break I took with Jackie and Gérard! Going down to the Keys with them, (not taking my laptop), and just enjoying the time away showed me that writing this blog should be an enjoyment and not an obligation. The drawing that I’ve had in my head and have been wanting to do of Audrey Hepburn is no longer on the back burner, but something I will start on tomorrow. Finishing the short-story that I started and giving it to a publisher I know will now take priority. Yes, I’ll continue here to write my thoughts, my concerns, my opinions, or share things that I find amusing or interesting, but it will be when I have the time to and not because I’ve forced myself to do it. Besides Jackie’s sister Stéphanie and her son Alexis will be coming for a visit next month and once again I’ll take another breather.
Maya Muses: It’s a good feeling to write what I feel and that’s why I think most people start blogging in the first place. I just have to keep that in mind as I start posting once again!
Photo Credits: Flickr
6 responses so far ↓
1 Billy // Jun 14, 2009 at 8:33 am
Welcome back Lynn! (to answer your question, yes, there are people listening *wink*)
I see what you mean: the last time I checked, *one* post, that I wrote in a few minutes because an Australian friend asked me to (translation into English of ‘Ma douleur’ lyrics by Camille) had received more hits than all my one-hundred-something other entries taken together.
You are on the very same path I have been writing about for a couple of blogs myself: we are essentially blogging for ourselves. Granted, we are glad when people read our prose, but we should not think they need us… I hope you will keep blogging, yet hopefully it will remain a pleasure, a leisure, not a burden!
2 Deena // Jun 14, 2009 at 11:39 am
Glad you’re back! I agree with Billy, I would think blogging would be something someone does for enjoyment and not as a commitment. Perhaps you’re too hard on yourself?
3 Lynn // Jun 14, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Thanks for your insight Billy! I will be popping over to your blog later this afternoon to see what you’ve been up to while I’ve been away!
4 Lynn // Jun 14, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Deena, I think you hit the nail right on the head! I do tend to be too hard on myself….always wanting things to be perfect, or at least as best as it can be! I will have to loosen up a bit…..thanks for your insight as well!
5 Michelle // Jun 15, 2009 at 10:33 am
Hi!
Funny, I’ve been taking a break too, and all my favourite blogs have been quiet. I just peeked in for a little read before sleep tonight.
Your blog and Billy’s have become two of my favourite’s, so it is nice to know the three of us are on similar wavelengths.
6 Lynn // Jun 15, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Michelle, thanks for your lovely comment! As a matter of fact, the post that you wrote saying you were taking a breather to do things that were important to you, and that there were things you wanted to accomplish, but you weren’t devoting as much time as you would like because blogging took up so much of your time was really what made me take a step back to reassess my own prioritites.
Funny how sometimes we write things for ourselves that we think may be insignificant to others and then we learn that those words had a vast importance on someone else’s life and once again we realize the power of the written word!
I wish you much success in your endeavors with your academic career, your novel, your family life, and your “plan”! I must admit, I drop into your “old house in Paris” from time to time with the hopes of finding you home, or at least a little note taped to your front door! (I suspect, Billy may be doing the same!)
Leave a Comment