How Blogging Changed My Life

It’s now been just over a month since my first post and the launch of OrganicMania. As a mother of two, I’m very concerned about building a healthy environment for my children. OrganicMania was started as a way to share my research and opinions about when it truly makes sense to go organic. But OrganicMania is turning into so much more than that – it’s turning into a community, and it’s become my passion.

Thank you to everyone who supported my fledgling steps – especially the bloggers who’ve offered advice or found my site and left comments. This means the women – WhyMommy of Toddler Planet, Sher of Wrekehavoc, Gift of Green, Rejin from Urban Botany, Beth from Fake Plastic Fish, MC Milker from Not Quite Crunchy Parent, Margaret from Whirlwind, Mama K from Non Toxic Tots and mama k nj, Emily from Wheels on the Bus, and Jessica from Surely You Nest. This also means thanks to my “token males” — Jeff Steele, the father of DC Urban Moms and Dads; the megablogger Geoff Livingston; Nicholas from The Place of Dead Roads and Dean Hua from Sachi Studios, who got my blog up in no time. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to post comments or simply to visit the site. And most of all, thanks to my wonderful DH who encouraged me to start OrganicMania. He’s now calling himself “a blogging widower.”

My life truly has changed since I began blogging. How? Let me count the ways. I have:

1. Realized that organics and green living are more than simply an interest of mine. I want to find a way to make these passions fit into my work life too. This is obviously a huge change, and I’ll be blogging more about this as I explore what new doors may open for me;
2. Met new friends, deepened existing relationships and even talked with some in “real life;”
3. Had more fun writing than I’ve had since my days as a newspaper reporter fresh out of college;
4. Learned a lot about the organics industry and the green movement;
5. Taught myself to do a few technical things on my WordPress blogging platform, boosting my technical self-esteem;
6. Moved from observing the blogosphere for years to feeling a part of it; and I
7. Feel incredibly happy about all of this.

I feel more alive as a blogger. Connected. It’s odd, because here I sit alone at a computer, yet I know I am plugged into a huge community. It also sounds trite, because I have known about this phenomenon for more than a decade. But it’s one thing to know about something as an observer – it’s something totally different to live it.

Perhaps these feelings are hitting me especially hard, because as a Mom, I’m not accustomed to taking much time for myself. All of my friends are asking, “How are you finding time to do all this blogging?” I think the secret is that I’ve just about given up housework! ☺

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