Annual Summer Blogging Challenge

Fellow blogger and breast cancer advocate, Nancy Stordahl of Nancy's Point, has issued another series of questions in her annual Summer Blogging Challenge. Here are my answers. Thanks Nancy!

1. How long have you been blogging (or reading blogs)?

I started blogging last summer, so about a year. Unless you count my old LiveJournal, but let's pretend that never happened, mmmkay?

2. How has your blog changed?

I think my writing has taken on a more personal approach. When I started blogging I was clueless about which direction I wanted to take—was this going to be a blog for breast cancer patients or a blog for caregivers or a blog for anyone who's having a rough go at life (i.e., every human being ever)? Still figuring that out, but mostly I just try to be myself. And that seems to work for me.

3. What is your biggest blogging challenge/frustration?

People assume writing is therapeutic for me, but it's actually really hard. Like writing is the hardest thing ever. The words don't just flow effortlessly. Wish they did, but they don't. I don't always enjoy the process of writing as much as I enjoy having a finished piece in front of me. That (usually) makes it worth the effort.

Also, have you ever tried writing while a feral 4-year-old is doing acrobatics on the bed next to you?

And my technical skills are pretty abysmal.

4. What is your favorite post that you’ve written (or read)?

Probably this one ("We Need To Be OK With Not Being OK"). I wrote it after my second mastectomy, but it's still relevant as I'm grieving the death of my husband.

5. What are your goals for your blog? (Why do you read blogs?)

To become a better writer. To connect with people.

6. How many blogs do you read on a regular basis?

Honestly? None. I read bits here and there. But nothing regularly.

7. How do you determine what to share and what not to share; in other words, do you have blog boundaries? (or comment boundaries)

I do have to be careful about respecting my family's privacy. So I don't refer to anyone outside of my immediate family by name. In the past, whenever I wrote something especially personal I would get Paul's approval before posting it.

8. When things get hard, what keeps you blogging (or reading blogs)?

Encouragement from my readers. (Thank you!)

9. What is your biggest Cancer Land pet peeve today, right now, this minute?

This is going to upset a lot of people, probably. But I used to get slightly annoyed when people would say they were "still praying for that miracle" when Paul was dying. I'm maybe a terrible person for admitting this, and I'm definitely an imperfect Catholic because we're supposed to believe in miracles and all that? Somehow it just seemed like a dismissal of how serious things were. I knew Paul was going to die. Saying there was still a chance for a different outcome just didn't seem right. 

10. What one piece of advice would you offer to a new blogger?

Just start. Focus on writing. Don't worry about getting things perfect. They'll never be perfect. Just write.

11. Share something most people do not know about you. A secret sort of thing.

I loved watching True Blood, and don't you dare judge me.

12. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Reading. Prowling thrift stores. Concerts. Dancing to Disney tunes with my four-year-old. Cuddling with dogs all day long. (I'm a Rover dog-sitter, so send me your pups the next time you're out of town!)