I miss your blogs...

Have you stopped writing?  I looked back at him unsure how to respond.  I really liked your blog.  I had never really thought about people with disabilities before reading your posts.  I learned a lot.

Did something happen?  I’m no longer receiving any posts…She honestly thought there was a technical problem with her e-mail; the problem however, lay with the writer having nothing to send.

Did you give up on your blog?  My library friend looked at me with a knowing glance piercing through the rims of her glasses.  She had faithfully followed my blog for years, and now there was nothing to follow.

I’ve been grateful for these little exchanges over the past twelve months.  It’s encouraging to know that your words are missed when you take an unplanned hiatus from blogging.  It’s been a year since I’ve written a post, so I thought my first entry should include an explanation.

The answers to the above questions are:

No.

Yes.

Sort of…

No, I have not stopped writing.  I actually have been very busy writing, but nothing you would want to read in a blog post.  This summer I chained myself to the kitchen table and finished writing my doctoral dissertation on MN elementary school principals and their use of social media.  It was just as much work as writing my memoir, Walking with Tension. But, as the school year has unrolled, my research has found its application.  Alongside my new principal we are updating Facebook and Twitter almost daily, reaching parents, and making connections.  It’s been fun and rewarding to watch evolve because I am slowly starting to see my interest make its impact.

Yes, something did happen. Ten years ago United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of Central MN helped me find an internship at the Library of Congress in Washington DC during my senior year of college.  Facebook was in its infancy, Twitter had yet to be invented, and I still owned a phone that looked like one of Star Trek’s communicators.  Blogs were emerging, and I was able to share my experiences at America’s Library with UCP on their site. Years later, after I had completed my first draft of my book, I wrote for them again from 2011 to 2014.  I became friends with the executive director who retired just months after my book came out. Their Website has since been redesigned and my blog posts have been archived.  UCP has been gracious to me over the years, and I am thankful.  Writing for an organization was a motivator and helped keep me accountable.

So, I kind of gave up on blogging because I got busy speaking, studying, teaching, writing….  I’ve wanted to write something else besides academic papers in the last year, but haven’t found the time, energy, or motivation.  The demands of working as full time as an elementary school library media specialist and part-time doctoral student can tap your writing well and leave you dry.  Words quickly become work instead of wonder; labor in place of love.

Yet, there has been this longing in me whose desire I can’t even name, but I think writing might have something to do with it.  It’s like a dear friend who you know you should call, but you just haven’t.

 

And then, this e-mail came from my mom early one morning, “…I miss your blogs.  Powerful messages came from them.”

Writing uncorks a person, letting the aged, rich wine of their soul spill forth onto the page.  I want to pick up my pen again. I want to put words on paper.  I want to be reflective and transparent, offering a view that includes faith, disability, and life.

So now, I have a question to ask you:

Will you be my reader?

I’m going to try to update my blog weekly, but it’s easier to stay motivated if I know there are people out there reading.  I also recently created a Facebook page where I want to post pictures when I speak, have book signings, or update my blog. 

I’m doing a double-feature this week, because I just couldn’t wait!  Please enjoy His Words on Sunday.