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Getting the Year Off the Ground

Posted by | October 16, 2015 | BAMBINOS | 12 Comments

School Kids

My Dear Readers,

You have been so loyal, for so many years, and here I am just a flaky blogger, inconsistent and not-blogging-daily. I’m so sorry folks. And I’m so grateful for your sticking with me. Thank you.

Have you ever noticed that all the real bloggers don’t have other big-careers totally separate from their blogging-careers? There’s a reason for that!– It is super hard to be a mom-of-three with a big-career AND try to blog in any consistent fashion. It’s getting harder as the years go by, and I’ll tell you why: the kids go to bed later and later! I used to use my down-time at night to reflect on the day and blog. But these days, by the time Kyle and Owen go to bed (9:30ish on a good day), and we’ve then cleaned up the house, done a couple loads of laundry, responded to a slew of email, wrapped up work for the day, and cleaned the kitty litter/emptied the dishwasher/sewn a stray button on a pair of pants/filled out the school forms du jour/prepped the crockpot for tomorrow/stain sticked something/cloroxed something and maybe-had-a-glass-of-wine-and-checked-in-with-each-other-on-how-the-day-was…. well…. by then… it is midnight or so, and I’m totally done for the day and none of my brain cells are functioning. Oh, did I mention? I’m also 43 years old. I just don’t have the bandwidth for creative blogging at midnight that I did in 2006 when we started this old blog (and when the boys were in bed at 7pm)!

So, here I am. It is what it is.

I’ve gone MIA in the blogosphere for the past 2 months as I’ve had to be at the helm of my family for getting our year off the ground. See that picture above? That’s not easy to accomplish. At all. Especially when my own year is also kicking into full gear, and Braydon is working at full tilt too. There is no effortless perfection here people. It is all effort all the time. Every angle is effort, and effort is coming from every angle. That’s real. It’s all good, and it’s all bad, and it’s what is happening here: effort. All. The. Time.

We do our best. And for the past few weeks, our best has meant me not blogging. Sorry about that.

Here’s the thing: I’ll continue to try. Some of you will stick with me — through thick and thin. Many of you have been doing that for a long time. Some of you for many years. And again: THANK YOU. And if it’s not your thing to hang on with us, that’s totally cool. I get it. That’s what’s awesome about the blog!— you don’t have to read it if you don’t want to! For those of you who want to, and who wish to be more closely connected even in the ‘thin’ of it, there are a couple things I can offer you:

  • I post often to Facebook. If you ‘friend’ me, I’ll approve your friend request. I’m on Facebook as Heather Johnson at   https://www.facebook.com/heather.johnson.14661261
  • For a long time I’ve been wanting to start photo posting to Instagram. My August goal was to start posting a photo a day. I have been doing that (which may, in part, be why my blogging has declined in the past couple months). You can follow me on Instagram as heather_._johnson   at https://instagram.com/heather_._johnson/

I’m going to blog more, but I’ll be honest: it’s harder and harder all the time. So, I encourage you to go the Facebook and Instagram routes with me — because, well, because those things are just a lot less time consuming than blogging is (so I do them more, or at least I do them more consistently).

But blogging… well, blogging is the real deal. And I miss it when I’m not doing it. The reason I keep doing it is because: #1) blogging makes me saner [it’s a great outlet for me; I feel better when I’m blogging; it’s cathartic and a good mindful meditative process for me], and #2) so many of you tell me how much it means to you. I can’t really explain why this blog has connected so strongly with so many people, but I know that it has [because you tell me so], and that keeps me going — because I know it is meaningful and engaging for lots of people. Thank you for that. Thank you for reading!

Love,

Heather

P.S. I’m posting this from Dallas, TX where I’m attending a conference for work. The only way I finally got the chunk of time I needed for posting the photos from our August trip to NH was this lovely little hotel room all to myself with no distractions. See…. if I could just sequester myself in a hotel room more often, I’d get a lot more blogging done! 😉

12 Comments

  • Stacey says:

    I appreciate your blog posts and always check in. The feed on my blog allows me to see when there’s an update so I can read it every time. I hear you with finding time to blog–it’s not easy as a full-time working mama of 3. I’ve followed you on instagram (I’m Timbitgrrl) and friended you on Fac.ebook. :)

  • Rose wade says:

    9001 Canterbury Cove
    I have enjoyed your blog for so long, and enjoyed watching your family grow…You are a good mom, I willl friend you on facebook, but I have to warn you, that I am “fairly political” so, if you don’t agree with me, don’t “unfriend me” We will just agree to disagree (that’s what most of my friends do). I live in the south,but I “lean left”.

  • Rebecca says:

    i love this blog, with or without frequent updates. So many topics you’ve posted about (particularly interracial adoption) were new to me. I’ve lived in South Carolina my whole life & my new found awareness of diversity (or lack of in some places) started with what I read here. So Thank you.

  • Asiaha says:

    I am so glad y’all are doing well! For many years I have enjoyed reading your blogs (since a freshmen in high school). I’m 24 now lol. Seeing Meera, Kyle and Owen grow up through photos is a great privilege and so awesome. Thank you for sharing with us. I will be a loyal reader always!! Many blessings to you and your family.

    P.S. When I go to Pennsylvania, I secretly hope I run into you guys just so I can say “hi!!” lol :)

  • Claire says:

    Heather, thank you so much for blogging, for all these years. I’ve been reading for ages -since before Meera was born- and over this timespan I have gone from a teenager to a grad student. I appreciate your honesty, and I greatly respect how you are able to balance work and family. As my education goes on, I am starting to realize that I will probably fall into a similar work/family situation. Your posts inspire me and give me hope that it can be done. I’m sending you a friend request on facebook, and I will always follow the blog, no mater the frequency of posts.

  • Kate says:

    Heather,
    Thank you for this update. As you know I have followed for a number of years now — I think since 2009. Yes I have noticed blogging consistently is a full-time job. I’ve considered blogging myself but haven’t because I don’t have the time to keep it going so my FB tends to be my “blog”. But I so get what you mean about blogging being cathartic. Thanks for the IG and FB avenues to keep in touch — I will add you and will keep reading your blog.

    Over the past 6 years I’ve found your blog a joy to read and helpful through some challenging moments and I’ve bookmarked some of your “resource” type posts about Adoption and Dual Career households — I will print out copies one day, just in case you close this blog.

    And like Asiaha said, one day I hope I can meet you all offline, — one of my friends – husband and wife and two children (daughter 6 and son 11) have relocated to Philly and I have a few friends now living in NYC…so it’s on my travel bucket list to visit them all (and perhaps see you all too in PA, NYC or somewhere!)

    Happy weekend Heather, Braydon, Kyle, Owen and Meera!
    – Kate

  • Hannah says:

    Heather, this seems as good a time as any to thank you for blogging all this time, even when its spotty! I started reading the blog eight years ago, I was in high school and now I’m a graduate student (which from the comments above maybe isn’t as weird as I would have thought)! Through all that time, your blog has been one of the only consistent examples I’ve had of the reality of balancing work and family for women pursuing competitive careers. I will certainly continue following and greatly appreciating the blog, no matter how inconsistent, and I look forward to seeing updates via facebook as well. Thanks again!

  • Ani Martinez says:

    Thank you for the update! I have enjoyed following the bambino’s adventures for several years and check in regularly. These posts were a treat :) safe travels home!

  • Krissy says:

    I love your blog and look forward to your posts no matter how many months have passed! Your openness is refreshing because being a working mom is no easy task. I’ve been a follower since Meera was a baby, and I appreciate your honesty about struggling to find the balance between work and taking care of home. I’m currently trying to find the balance myself, lol, being a teacher and having a family at home, I’m struggling! I can understand how tough it is to kick off a school year. Thank you for continuing to share this thing called “life” with all of us. I’ve gone the Instagram and Facebook route in hopes of keeping in touch.

  • Melody says:

    Don’t apologize to us! I feel nothing but appreciation to occasionally be invited for a look inside your lives.

  • Brookwater says:

    Heather, I found your blog after a friend shared a post that that you wrote about Furgerson and your boys. I was struck by the beauty of your writing and the beauty of your family. I was so intrigued by your family that I begin to read some of the archives. I’ve seen your kids grow over 9+ years in the space of about a year. Thank you for sharing so much of your self and your family!

  • Kristen Smith says:

    Hi Heather,

    I’m glad to see an update, but of course figured that you were in the crazy whirlwind of the beginning of the school year! Happy to hear that all is well, and I’ve friended you on FB. :)

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