I read about it on another blogger's Instagram and blog (Victoria's Ramblings) and immediately thought, "Oh! This looks fun!" So I signed up (at 31 Days) and then immediately thought, "Oh! This might have been a big mistake!" It occurred to me (somehow, after the fact) that I just committed to write a blog post every day for 31 days. Looking around the website at some of the other blogger contributions from past years, I felt a little, um, inadequate.
The overarching theme/topic I'm choosing is Family Life, but as I tried to think of what, specifically, I would write about, I felt even more ill-equipped to start this little challenge. Other bloggers had offered clever tips and tricks and wisdom like "31 Days to Be a Better Wife" or "31 Days to Balancing a Budget" or "31 Days of Homeschooling," etc. I wasn't really sure I had anything of any real value to offer. Then I remembered the reason I write (to mentally process and document meaningful things), and I remembered what I do best (just being myself), and I decided what my posts would be about:
The audience: In all honesty, this is mostly for myself. I have no hopes or dreams of becoming a viral, mass-marketed writer (not gonna lie, that would be fun, especially if it was a paying gig, but it's not really my target). This will mostly be just an effort to remind myself of all that I'm blessed with and a challenge to not only write it down, but to really experience and notice and capture it all. However, I do hope other potential readers will find mutual encouragement, entertainment, and amusement along the way.
The characters: Me (Shelby), the type-A, first-born, procrastinating perfectionist who turned 30 this year. The husband (Blaine), a type-B, last-born, easy-going, forgetful but tries really hard, all around great guy. Thing One (Brock), our 3.5 year old son with a fascinating little mind and enough strange quirks to keep me amused every day. Thing Two (Roman), our 1.5 year old son who is almost equally quirky but in completely different ways and who is learning all kinds of new things. Finally, the dog (Piper) may occasionally make a debut too.
So there it is... We'll see how this whole thing goes, but I am looking forward to what stories the next 31 days will hold!
Day Two (Gray hair, kid crafts, and couch cushions)
Day Three (UnThankful hearts)
Day Four (5 things that made me happy)
Day Five (The ministry of motherhood)
Day Six (Thankful leaves: Follow-up to Day 3)
Day Seven (Because real life)
Day Eight (The worthless idols)
Day Nine (The library book)
Day Ten (That moment when...)
Day Eleven (Meh)
Day Twelve (Not for a moment)
Day Thirteen (Neighbors)
Day Fourteen (Transformation Tuesday - How I lost 50 pounds)
Day Fifteen (Daddy's shirt)
Day Sixteen (Family)
Day Seventeen (Confessions of a mom)
Day Eighteen (The birds and the bees)
Day Nineteen (Personal responsibility)
Day Twenty (Drawings)
Day Twenty-one (Loving real life)
Day Twenty-two (A picture worth a thousand words)
Day Twenty-three (A post about a post)
Day Twenty-four (We are not good people)
Day Twenty-five (Sometimes you just gotta paint)
Day Twenty-six (Lottie Moon auction)
Day Twenty-seven (Salvation)
Day Twenty-eight (CS Lewis)
Day Twenty-nine (The gospel and Halloween)
Day Thirty (Go vote!)
Day Thirty-one (Redeeming Halloween)