Why Do You Blog?

Did you ever wonder what was the first blog? Where did they start? Wikipedia dates the first blog back to the ancient times, 1999. I guess in the scheme of the internet that is ancient.

Do you remember the first blog that you read? I remember my first. I was amazed. I thought that it was such a great creation. I stumbled upon it by complete accident. It was "Kentucky Hollers". The woman described her life on a homestead. She told her story, how she left with her daughters and moved all the way across the United States to start over on a small farm in Kentucky. I was so enchanted that I scrolled back to the very beginning and read her story. Her strength encouraged me. She was able to repair, rehab and build so much. I used her side bar and read other blogs. I was hooked. So many people with such varied stories and reasons to blog. There was a whole world out there. People with stories to tell. People living and working through hard times, sad times, and even good times. They shared their stories with complete strangers. And we read them. We even became friends, encouraging each other, crying with each others losses and pain, laughing with their joy. Voyeurism of sorts I suppose. A glimpse into others lives.

I wanted to blog too. I wanted to create my story. Why? Did I have a story? As I sat there thinking that we had just moved to Maine, onto a farm and started rehabbing an old farmhouse. Grand kids were being born. Kids moving home and away again. Firsts of so many kinds. That was the beginning to my story, my blog. I have never been a journal keeper. I tried as a kid with a diary. That got really dull fast for me. Hey, I went to school, came home and then went back to school. Woo Hoo.

We all have stories. We grow as people. I find it amazing to read other blogs. I call you guys my "blog friends". We may not be able to pick each other out in a crowd but we know little tid bits of each others lives. We pray for each other when times are tough. We help out with donations when hard times hit and the mortgage can't be met. We send gift baskets and treats. I love the giveaways that some have, the items and crafts others have for sale. I have gotten soap from Peggy, goat pin cushions from Lisa, pottery from Tonya. We even had a visit from Tracy and her mom Jo Ann from Washington. Wow, the more I think about it the world is really a very small place. Made even smaller by the internet.

Now that we have these stories. Stories of our lives what do we do with them? Do we just leave them on the internet? Can the internet just disappear? Will our stories just go away one day in some mass computer glitch? I want my story to last. Something to hold on to and pass on. Just think about the feeling you get when you run across some old letters up in the attic. You sit there and read with wonder about another time. A time when life went at a slower pace. Cars were a new invention or fad. What will our future be like when our blog stories are read. What will they say? Oh my, look at the old trucks and tractors. Look at what my great great great grandmother did.

Last year I was doing my regular blog reading and I was at Thistle Cove Farm reading Sandra's blog. She is inspirational and gives words of wisdom that I love. She mentioned a web site that would take your blog posts, pictures, and comments, put them into book form. A book that you can hold in your hands. I went onto the Blog2print web site and it was so easy. Now each year I have the blog printed out and it magically appears in the mail. Now my story is here in my hands to pass on.

Why do you blog?

Much Love and Prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm