Today I am publishing this
blog's 300th post. I've reached this milestone thirteen years since the birth
of Lady E., who was the catalyst for this effort. We doubled down with the
addition of Marina. When I began the blog, on a whim, it was titled "Rising
Daughter." I had no preconceived notions of what subjects I'd write about
or how long I would do it. Yet, here we are.
I've discovered the most
important factor in writing 300 posts is to simply keep writing. There is no
magic to it. Just dogged persistence, occasional self-indulgence and a bit of
skylarking. There's been scant consistency in the content apart from recounting
what this family is doing, tales from our various trips, and occasional
interviews with the Rising Daughters® to mark their interests and development. I
have tried to keep work and politics out of it. I have aimed to capture moments
in time so my daughters themselves might find something heartwarming or funny when
they read it later in life.
What have I learned from scribbling 300 posts?
- You always want to make
retroactive corrections and improvements. That includes ridiculously simple
things like spelling errors that aren't caught due to tired eyes, bad style, or
clunky diction.
- It’s a blog, not a book.
You get one round of writing, then a stab at improving. Then you push it out
and live with it.
- Have fun. It's OK to
indulge and amuse yourself, too. Case in point: my motorcycle trip
retrospectives.
How many people read it?
I don't know. But I don't
give a rat's ass about "engagement" (the aggregate metrics of who reads
it and if they like it). That's never been the purpose of the Rising Daughters
blog. The real impact for me isn't registered immediately. Perhaps in the
coming years? I know a few extended family members who enjoy it and get some insight
into what we're doing despite our living so far away. Bottom line: it's a labor
of love. Regardless if one person or 20 reads the output, the more I write, the
more I improve, and that is never-ending. I have set two posts per month as my
sweet spot, or about 24 posts per year. That's manageable.
What's in it for you?
What I get out of it is
self-reflection about what we've done, what we enjoy doing together, and where
the family is heading. The writing itself is fun, but occasionally onerous. Maintaining
process discipline has forced me to use some of the tools I've honed in my job
such as clarifying and refining my thinking, and editing.
Why is it only the positive, PG-rated posts?
Like I mentioned above—no
politics, no work. And, social media is almost always positive:
Let me tell how great things are going.
Thumbs up.
Look how great I am.
The PG-rating is organic
because the Rising Family™ is perfect. We never fight. We always look
good, do interesting things at full speed, and at peak performance. We are
unceasingly polite and warm to each other and every day is magically happy. This
all happens because Naomi and I have innovative, superior parenting techniques.
The Rising Daughters can do no wrong as brilliant students with world-class social
skills.
Yeah, right.
When will the blog end?
Not sure. I'll keep going
until the daughters put the kibosh on it or the wind whispers "it's
time."
Thanks for reading!
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