Sunday, August 20, 2017

Thanks For The Memories!

On Friday, June 29, 2007 I wrote my first blog post. It's been ten years. TEN YEARS of blogging! I've written 1692 blog posts. A lot has changed in that time. When I first started, I was a stay-at-home mom to 6 young kids who liked to paint the TV with yogurt, color the dog with markers, smear diaper cream on the carpet, give each other impromptu haircuts, and make messes of epic proportions. I was married and lived in a nice town on the outskirts of Chicago. I blogged almost every day and had nearly 10,000 daily readers. My kids were the following ages:

Austin - 12
Savannah - 11
Jackson - 8
Lexington - 6
Clayton - 3
Brooklyn - 1


Now my kids are:

Austin - 22 and expecting his first child in October
Savannah - 21 and in her third year of college
Jackson - 19 working and trying to find a good direction
Lexington - 16 and driving, a junior in high school
Clayton - 13 and in 8th grade
Brooklyn - 11 and in 6th grade

Here are pictures of the kids from when I first started blogging, right before we moved to Florida in 2011, and now.











Little did I know, when I first started blogging, that the silliness I shared online would garner me interviews on TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines, would open opportunities to work with companies on sponsored posts and product giveaways, and would award me a 2 book deal with Simon & Schuster.



But most importantly, little did I know that the every-day, mundane stuff of life that I shared online would inspire others. That has been the greatest gift to come of this little venture.

And of course, now I have an online journal of the past ten years. I wrote about birthdays and holidays, vacations and camping trips, broken bones, stitches, and surgeries. I wrote about the nice things my kids have done, and I wrote about the naughty things too. I've chronicled the messes. Oh dear Lord, the messes. (But here's a pro tip for you moms of young kids. Don't worry about the messes. Embrace the messes. I would give anything to go back in time and have to deal with spilled milk, crayon on the walls, and names scratched into the side of my van as opposed to peer pressure, drugs, sex, driving lessons, part time jobs, and geometry homework!) I've written about my attempts at home maintenance, being a single mom, and trying to date. I've written about hard times like losing my house and struggling financially, and mental health hospitalizations and addiction issues. I've written about happy times. And I've written about funny things like, well, most of the things I've written about have been funny if you look at them through the right lenses (they don't need to be ISO certified either.)






Thanks to you, my readers, for an amazing 10 years! And here's to 10 more!

10 comments:

Unknown said...

I wish love, luck and happiness to you and your kids. I know from personal experience that there are dips in the road, but at the end of the day love pulls them through. Lucky kids and very lucky mum xx

Unknown said...

I love that you are real in your posts. You share the awesome, wonderful things and the crappy, horrific things. Things a lot of your readers relate to. Thank you.

Sue D. said...

We love you, Dawn, and hope you never stop blogging. You're one of the strongest people I know. God bless you always. You have a beautiful family.

Cindy said...

What a journey you've captured! You've created quite a legacy for your kids. Congratulations on 10 years of blogging!

Bonnie said...

I've enjoyed reading your posts and your humor has gotten me through many a hard day. Thanks for sharing yourself, and your family, with all of us.

Grace said...

Congrats Dawn long time, keep it up x

Unknown said...

You saying you have been blogging for 10 years, means I have been reading for 10 years! The Pokémon cards post drew me in and I have enjoyed watching your kids grow and how open and real you have been with all of us...looking forward to the next 10!

Michelle said...

Austin is going to be a daddy!!! Wow! How exciting, congrats to him & to you, gramma :)

Suburban Correspondent said...

I missed this one when you posted it! Man, it's amazing how things change in 10 years, isn't it? It's just crazy. And, yes, I agree - it's awesome to have this 10-year record of all the day-to-day stuff that happens. Beats a photo album any day!

Twocans said...

I love it!

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