Today is the beginning of Thanksgiving week, a busy season that leaves little time for blogging. Sometimes, life’s twists and turns suddenly put responsibilities and demands of daily living on hold. That is what my world has been like this holiday month. I have not blogged this month at all until last night.
The traditional idea is to gather with extended family the next few days, eat turkey and dressing, giblet gravy, yams, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie and pecan pie. This year, my family gathered early because 15 days ago, my precious dad passed away.
I called him Daddy. He was blessed to live ’til 90. A typical response I have occasionally faced is the question of how old my dad was, “Oh, well, he lived a long life.” That seems to make it all better somehow – or does it? Sure, it is true that he lived a long life. It’s just that in grief, the heart is overwhelmed.
Yes, he lived a long life, and I’m thankful. The fact that he lived ’til 90, however, does not make this transition easy. What has helped is being with family and friends, another reason I feel thankful.
There was absolutely no chance and no thought of writing a blog post during my dad’s hospital stay and the week of his death. I couldn’t even think what to say. Numbness set in. Something happened, however. I thought, “It’s Thanksgiving and time to blog about my thankfulness for a father who was exceptional and do what he would say to do.
This is what he would say: Get a move on. Never, never, never give up. Smile. Be on time.
So here goes. What do you do when life hits you hard? You push your way through the impossible until you discover the possible. That goes for blogging and publishing. You accomplish whatever you can. If you don’t know how to do something, go for what you do know and eventually, a door will open.
I’ve been a blogger since 2008, the year my mother died. Within a year, I suffered much loss. My mother-in-law died ten months before my mother. That was the time the lesson of letting go began, a lesson that lasted for years. I would think I had learned it, then another loss would take place.
In March 2015 I went to my dad’s 90th birthday celebrations. As the plane was preparing to land, I turned to look out of the window, looked back, and felt dizzy. That was the beginning of my vertigo experience, three months that changed my life. I went on short-term disability, couldn’t drive, and depended on caring friends who took me to medical tests and doctors’ visits. When a specialist requested that I have about two more weeks off work, I was laid off. Then there was a waiting period while I was set up on unemployment. It was a trying time.
None of this year’s experiences made sense to me at the time, but I put my trust in Jesus and knew there had to be a purpose for what I was going through.
On November 7, 2015, I realized that had I not been laid off, I wouldn’t have been able to take off work to sit with my dad while he was in the hospital. I’m very thankful for those few days with him.
When I worked full time, finding time to blog was extremely difficult. My commute to work one way was one hour, and the drive home had begun to take even longer. I normally blogged on the weekends because during the week, I would fall asleep if I sat down to write a blog post.
One thing I was determined to do was to keep blogging. I didn’t have all the answers on how to make money blogging (still don’t), but I never gave up and won’t now.
A blogging mentor advised me to start a blogging group through Meetup.com. The group, Meetup.com/High-Desert-Blogging was created. Like-minded individuals joined at coffee shops to learn how to start a blog.
I’ve learned several things along my blog journey. Five of those lessons are my gift to you today:
- Bloggers should network face to face and online with other bloggers. You learn from others’ experiences what works and what doesn’t.
- Signing up for every amazing blog class on how to be a successful blogger can make you go broke. If you’re not careful, you’ll spend a fortune on learning how to blog. Choose wisely, and complete all of the modules offered in what you pay for.
- Blog networks are good to join or to start yourself. They help to build up traffic to your blog as well as to the bloggers who write on the network.
- You should take regular breaks from sitting at the computer. Make yourself get up and get active. Get some sunshine, and exercise.
- You never know all there is to know, and there will always be something you’ve learned that you can teach others.
I got a move on last night and blogged. I refuse to give up. Today I have barely made it on time for Sunday’s blog post, but I’m doing it and smiling as I get ready to click on “Publish”.