As I come to the end of my 30 days of gratitude posts, I am taking stock in what being a part of this project has meant to me. To be sure, it has made me stop and appreciate some of the little things that I may normally take for granted and for that, tonight I am thankful for not only being a part of this project, but also for two specific people.
First, thank you to Jote of the Bless Her Heart blog. She is the local blogger behind "The Grateful Heart Project". This little adventure seems to have taken off and gotten lots of other local bloggers inspired enough to take part in writing about something they were grateful for everyday for 30 days. I'd recommend visiting her site to see the blogroll of wonderful writers taking part. When I had first heard of the project through the AFBA, I was skeptical, but only because the thought of posting everyday for 30 days during one of the busiest times of the year was borderline insane for me. Then, one of my new and quite lovely food blogger friends talked me into it. So second, thank you to Maggie of the From Maggie's Farm blog for helping me see that this project was doable. In my humble opinion, she is the queen of combining different themes into her daily posts and was a true inspiration. Check out her wonderful blog post and see for yourself how talented she really is.
For the project itself, I first thought I would tackle it by jotting down a list of themes or ideas that I was thankful for. Somehow, that list got shuffled away on my desk and probably eventually ended up in the trash. No worries though, as that was something I am also grateful for. Without that list, I was able (forced?) to think daily about my gratitude and write what came to me in the moment. Being that I generally blog about food, my second concern was "Do I write about food that I am grateful for?" Or, "How will I be able to incorporate food into the things I am grateful for?" How about photos? I have never posted without including photos. Clearly, I was making this far more difficult than I think Jote had originally intended. I realize I do that more often than not, making things harder on myself instead of just breathing more, being a little more flexible, and taking a more relaxed approach. So that's what I started doing - breathing more and letting the things that I was thankful for just happen. Looking back now, I know that I learned some valuable lessons with this project. Yes, It is possible to post everyday. Yes, it is OK not to expect your readers to read every post. It's just as important for me to write what I feel and get it out there without worrying if anyone is actually reading it. Yes, it's ok to not write about food all the time. And most importantly, how cool was it that I, along with a handful of others, were taking time out everyday to really think about what we are thankful for... I'm jus' sayin'!
You are TOO KIND! Thank you for the lovely compliments. I love what you had to say about it and I, too, have to remember that this blog is as much for me as it is for every reader, so sharing what's fun, interesting, and important to me is as valuable, as say, a recipe for potato soup and a few yummy pictures to go with. I'll be back to more food posts in January, but I've enjoyed getting to know people through this 30 day cycle that I might not have gotten to know.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful for YOU!
Happy New Year!!