Saturday, November 12, 2011

I'm a comment reader.  I always have been.  Long before I started my little decorating blog, I have been fascinated with people's opinions.  Sometimes I'm drawn to a new idea, sometimes I just get a chuckle.  Sometimes I wholeheartedly agree, while sometimes I couldn't disagree more.  But I love to see what other people think.

As I've mentioned before, I started my blog in July.  I had thought about writing a blog for a long time, but I didn't have the courage.  There were a couple of factors stopping me.  First, I didn't think anyone would care about my ideas or projects.  I mean, there are tons of great blogs out there already (I know because I've been reading them for a long time!).  And second, I was nervous about putting myself 'out there'.  I have even mentioned that I was afraid to tell anyone about my blog for weeks (or maybe it was months).  I wasn't ready to be 'judged'.

Well, I've learned that this blogging community is very supportive.  I am amazed at how wonderful everyone has been.  I have watched my very little blog begin to grow.  I am so grateful to my readers.  AND I'm so grateful to the other bloggers who have been so kind - whether they have featured one of my projects, returned an email, answered one of my questions (remember - I'm new here and I still have no idea what I'm doing), or just left a comment.  I appreciate all of it.  And most nights, I sit with my husband, Craig, and go on and on about what went on with my blog today.  He's been incredibly supportive - I can't thank him enough.  And he listens to me talk about this blogger or that reader.  And he sees how excited I get about all of the interaction I have through my blog.

I'm new to this blogging world.  I'm still fine tuning My Covered Bridge.  And I'm still learning.  I'm not only learning how to put HTML in a gadget in the sidebar, but I'm learning what I want this blog to be about.  I hope that the content is getting better as I go.  I have treated it like a business (no, I'm not really making money but I still take it seriously).  I'm constantly planning what I want to do with this blog.  How to grow it, make it better, and have fun with it.  I have fine tuned it and added regular features, like Oldies but Goodies on Sunday and My Friday Five on Fridays.  And although I take this blog very seriously, I understand completely that the content is just for fun.  Decorating is very frivolous.  I know.  And sometimes life should be just fun.

Which brings me to my point (I know you've been wondering what the point is from the first paragraph) - my blog is just for fun.  I hope that when my readers read my post, they enjoy seeing a tutorial, get inspired to try something at home, or just laugh at my lame jokes (and I'm very aware that sometimes I'm not funny at all - sorry I'm really trying).  And that's it.  Just have fun.  And I'm aware that some of my projects might not be everyone's cup of tea.  Which is ok.  But I was not prepared to read a comment last night on yesterday's post.  And I know that if one person was willing to take the time to bring it to my attention (thank you for doing so), that more people were thinking it.  I did not mention Veteran's Day in my post.  And I would like the opportunity to explain why.  I am from a military family.  My father and uncle fought in Vietnam.  And our military background goes back way before that.  I have the utmost respect for veterans.  I thanked many in person (which by the way I do many days).  It's very personal for me.  And I thought that talking about it on a decorating blog would be, for me, impersonal.

Everyone will have a different opinion on this subject.  And I'm very sorry if I offended anyone.  It was not my intention.  But it has given me pause.  I will definitely rethink the future of this blog.  I may be too sensitive for this endeavor.  As I take this weekend to do some fun things with my family, I will give some thought to My Covered Bridge.