One year ago today I posted my first blog entry. I had been thinking about starting a blog and a series of websites to accompany the blog for a long time. For years, actually. I had spent several months planning the underpinnings of my Magnum Opus hectic-kitchen, and honestly I had hit a wall that frustrated the living daylights out of me. I knew then, and still know now exactly what I want to do with my websites. In fact, I may know a little too well exactly how I want everything to be. I can see the finished product in my mind…but the journey to get there has been more of an adventure than I expected.
Flipping the calendar back one year and four days ago, I was in a funk. I was frustrated with my lack of visible deliverables on my Hectic brand, and I felt like I wasn’t getting anything done. I decided that today was the day that I was going to have something to show for all my work. I was going to prove to myself and others that I could produce content. At that point, I decided that the best way to show that proof was to commit to a personal blog. Since I was enamored with the Hectic brand name, it seemed obvious to call the blog hectic-dad. I purchased the website name and furiously started to write my first blog post. I took some breaks to figure out how to setup the website, but mostly I thought about what the blog was going to be about, and then wrote bits and pieces.
If you’ve followed me much during my past year blogging, or previously as a live human being, you know that I’m a planner. I like maps. I like time-frames. I like schedules. I really struggle with the unexpected and unplanned. So I tried to apply schedules, plans, time-frames, and maps to my newly minted blog. And I slowly felt myself slipping into the same morass that had consumed hectic-kitchen.
Then it hit me…just write. Write anything. and actually post it. Put it out there for the world to read. To Heck with what people think of it, that’s not the point. The point is to get out there and do something.
And I wrote that first post and uploaded it. I actually felt a serious sense of accomplishment. Although I didn’t tell anybody about it, I had made my first blog post. I had joined the ranks of the internet bloggers. It took me a few posts before I was willing to tell anybody about my new venture. It took me even longer to put it out on Facebook and Twitter that I had a blog. But I continued to write.
I really tried to stick to a schedule. I tried to dig into my list of ideas and post things in a rational way. I tried to stick to specific subjects for a long enough time that the blog flowed. But most importantly, I wrote. I created content that nobody else had created.
So here I am, sitting on the porch of the fabulous Castine Inn in Castine, ME looking back at a year’s worth of posts. 106 posts to be exact. I’m 1,570 miles from home in Hutchinson, KS and a world away in terms of the culture here. It’s similar to Kansas in that the folks are relaxed and friendly. It’s vastly different because of the hills and the accent. I’m good with accents, but the Northern New England accent is a bit hard for me to understand. Give me a few more hours (I’ve been here exactly 10 hours) and I’ll be doing fine. If I’m not careful I’ll probably pick up some of the accent!
In the year that I’ve been blogging I’ve biked across Kansas with one of my daughters. I’ve traveled to NJ/NYC twice and spent significant amounts of time with three daughters there. I’ve attended two college graduations and a high school graduation, I’ve sent one of my kids off to Army Basic Training, I’ve attended so many sporting events that I’ve lost count, and I’ve had more wonderful dinners with my family that I can document.
It’s been a great year, and while my blog isn’t anything like I thought it was going to be, it continues to grow and evolved. My other websites are beginning to take shape. In a couple of weeks I’m going to be making some major announcements about the website roll-outs and plans, so I’m really excited.
When I counted up my blog posts I was actually fairly surprised. I don’t feel like I’ve been writing enough, and while that is true, I have proven to myself that when I get going, I can get things done. I’m shooting for three/four posts a week for the next year…so you can hold me feet to the first.
Finally, I want to thank all my readers. Whether this is the first post you’ve read, or the 107th, I really appreciate you folks being out there. I’ll try to keep up my end of the bargain by writing things that are interesting and useful to you.
Happy Anniversary, everybody!
Make it a great day!
