Kat, this is everyone =)
Back in February of this year, I came across Kat’s personal blog at www.mysinglemomlife.com. I can’t remember how I found it exactly, but I had never read a personal blog before and I was really quite moved by how open and real she was in her writing.
The other thing that struck me at the time was how much I had in common with her – she’s about my age, a divorced mom raising 2 teenage boys, working from home, someone who loves music and cats, experiencing what appeared to be ups and downs very similar to my own. Yes, there were definitely issues that we have different opinions about, but so much of her life seemed to be a reflection of mine and I could relate to many things that she wrote about.
When I found her blog writings (which she’s been doing for over 10 years now) she was venting about her frustrations with the boys and the physical pain and mental exhaustion she was going through. I have since discovered that her physical pain is on a level much higher than mine and is the result of scoliosis and subsequent recent spinal surgery. (She now has a titanium rod the size of France in her back and she is in a lot of pain.)
But I digress.
Her blog touched me. I have wanted to write for many years and have never known quite how to do it. A novel seemed too intimidating, a journal seemed boring and non-fiction seemed crazy (what the hell do I know about anything?) Seeing her blog and what she was writing about provided just the spark I needed to finally get into my own writing.
And so I created justB[coz].
It is as a direct result of Kat’s personal blog that I found the inspiration I needed to start my own blog and use this space for anything and everything I wanted to write about. My very first post credited her with providing the spark of enthusiasm I needed to get going with this personal venture. Unlike Kat though, and as an aside, I don’t intend to make any money from justB[coz] – any reviews I write here are entirely off my own bat and I receive no compensation at all. Kat is unfortunately not able to go out and work so she relies on her blog for income and I admire her greatly for that. She is a survivor and she does the very best she can with what she has.
This lady has a special place in my heart. I still keep up with her writing as much as I can and support her to the best of my ability.
So you can imagine my delighted surprise when I got home from the birthday bash last night (which was very cool BTW) to find that Kat had left a comment on my blog! A beautiful, encouraging comment that was full of warmth and wisdom. I was ecstatic, and incredibly honored that the person responsible for setting me off on the blog path had come to visit my little space and taken the time to write a message to me.
I’m very chuffed! I just had to share that with you and let you know who she is and what she means to me =)
You’ve been keeping up with me all this time? Wow, I had no idea 🙂
Yes, you’re right – this has been very scary for me, but incredibly therapeutic. It’s one of the best things I’ve done for myself – having this outlet is a wonderful experience. I’m normally such a reserved person in real life, I don’t talk very much at all, and especially not about myself. Things can (and do) get all bottled up, which is really bad, so having this blog is, amongst other things, a healthy way for me to let stuff out.
And it’s thanks to you that it all happened in the first place!
I remember your first post, and wanted to leave you a comment, but your blog wasn’t set up for commenting I think it was. I believe that people had to register, but I couldn’t find the register link…LOL
I did add your blog to my feed reader and bookmarks, and have been keeping up with you all this time and I have been enjoying how you’ve been sharing more and more of yourself with your readers.
It’s kind of scary at first isn’t it?
Not too sure how much you should say, what people will think, who you know in real life who may find it.
It took me about 2 years to finally let more people in my family aside from my parents (they are why I started it to begin with) know about my blog, I dealt with crazy blog stalkers, people who were mean and critical of my very open style of parenting, but I finally learned to just shrug it off and keep going because it was so therapeutic for me.
I am glad you started blogging, I am glad to see you sharing more of yourself, the good, the bad, the vulnerability and weakness that others can relate to as you saw in your comments.
I promise you that things get easier as time moves on, you’ll still have those moments where the memories are as vivid as the day it happened, but they come farther and farther apart.
I’m glad you reached out to me the day you found me too.
I don’t remember if I mentioned it in my reply to you that day, but I was having my own low day, and to have someone say to me that I helped them get through their moment, it lifted me up, so I have to thank you for that.
Hope you’re having a better day. 🙂