So, the thing is...
Back in January of 2001, when my younger daughter was just three months old, I started sending out regular columns about family life to my friends and family. I had always written these little vignettes about Ana, and once Jane came along, I decided to formalize it. I was a little worried about losing my writing chops, not to mention all these memories of my kids since I was never the "Keep the Baby Book" type of mom. (Neither of my kids has a baby book. I still feel large shame about this. I should be getting over it about the time they turn 30 and can make me feel guilty themselves.)
Anyway, the column took off, thanks to my friend Kristin, who sent it to all of her friends, who then sent it to THEIR friends and suddenly I had a real audience of readers. Who, you know, expected something from me.
I was very excited. And very sleep deprived. I wrote ALL OF THE TIME. Seriously. I wrote about adding a second child. I wrote about missing my Dad. I wrote about milestones in my kids' lives--like Ana applying to preschool, and Jane turning one, and the time the bulldog dropped by. I took some creative chances --THAT column is one of my best, I think. When 9-11 happened, I could only write and cry.
I set up a website at some point. It wasn't very good, so one of my readers, Kelly, redesigned it for me just because she really liked the column and she couldn't stand the web site. I kept managing the subscription list, but not very well (I meant to automate the subscription process --I really did -- but, um, I didn't, so I kept forgetting to add people and then I'd forget to change addresses and to delete people. It was a mess. It still is a mess. I really need to automate...) The readers kept subscribing and I kept writing, even though sending out a column is sort of a nightmare. (For one thing, I can't just click one button. I have to cut the list into about ten different lists and send those individually--thanks to Microsoft Outlook, which is just sure if I am sending a big number of e-mails I must be a spammer. I've never sent out a column, even once, with the word "viagra" into the subject line. Maybe I would have had better luck if I had.)
Anyway, the columns weren't as frequent after a while. But my readers are so amazing--a majority have been on my list since the very beginning. They hang in there. Sometimes they write and ask me if I'm still writing. They actually WRITE TO ME. I love that. The column morphed into more of a humor column--no one was more shocked by that than I was. I'm not that funny in real life. In fact, my husband says that when I make a joke, the listener has to make a choice whether to laugh or to cry.
And then I discovered blogging. Had blogging be around when I started my column, I would no doubt have just started writing a blog. But I see the two very differently now but I love both. I was kind of hoping that they would be sort of complementary --that people might want to read BOTH.
Yesterday, though, I got The Letter.
Anyway, the column took off, thanks to my friend Kristin, who sent it to all of her friends, who then sent it to THEIR friends and suddenly I had a real audience of readers. Who, you know, expected something from me.
I was very excited. And very sleep deprived. I wrote ALL OF THE TIME. Seriously. I wrote about adding a second child. I wrote about missing my Dad. I wrote about milestones in my kids' lives--like Ana applying to preschool, and Jane turning one, and the time the bulldog dropped by. I took some creative chances --THAT column is one of my best, I think. When 9-11 happened, I could only write and cry.
I set up a website at some point. It wasn't very good, so one of my readers, Kelly, redesigned it for me just because she really liked the column and she couldn't stand the web site. I kept managing the subscription list, but not very well (I meant to automate the subscription process --I really did -- but, um, I didn't, so I kept forgetting to add people and then I'd forget to change addresses and to delete people. It was a mess. It still is a mess. I really need to automate...) The readers kept subscribing and I kept writing, even though sending out a column is sort of a nightmare. (For one thing, I can't just click one button. I have to cut the list into about ten different lists and send those individually--thanks to Microsoft Outlook, which is just sure if I am sending a big number of e-mails I must be a spammer. I've never sent out a column, even once, with the word "viagra" into the subject line. Maybe I would have had better luck if I had.)
Anyway, the columns weren't as frequent after a while. But my readers are so amazing--a majority have been on my list since the very beginning. They hang in there. Sometimes they write and ask me if I'm still writing. They actually WRITE TO ME. I love that. The column morphed into more of a humor column--no one was more shocked by that than I was. I'm not that funny in real life. In fact, my husband says that when I make a joke, the listener has to make a choice whether to laugh or to cry.
And then I discovered blogging. Had blogging be around when I started my column, I would no doubt have just started writing a blog. But I see the two very differently now but I love both. I was kind of hoping that they would be sort of complementary --that people might want to read BOTH.
Yesterday, though, I got The Letter.
Comments
Tooooooo funny!!!