blogging

Back at it Again!

~ coralswimming ~ 3 Comments

Hi friends, I’m back! I know, I know, I’ve done this before. Come back. Write two posts, and then disappear again. The truth is that I don’t actually disappear. I still read…and start drafts…but life and time take over.

I thought I’d give it another go. Some time has passed. The kids are growing. Starfish moved across the country, Ocean Breeze is in high school and Sea Pony is now attending the same academically rigorous program that her older brother and sister attended.

I have some drafts that I would like to complete and post, so you may see me writing about stuff that happened in the past. It’s OK. It still happened, and we still learned.

Thanks for reading. See you soon.

~Coral Swimming

Blogger Recognition Award

~ coralswimming ~ 3 Comments

Melinda from Purple Slob in Recovery has nominated me for the Blogger Recognition Award! Yay!!! Thank you, Melinda!! Thank you for thinking of me even after all these absent months. Honestly, I don’t know how I even deserve this recognition after dropping off for so long…but here I am, hoping to use this award as a kick-off to start blogging again.

Alright, so here are the rules of acceptance:

  1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
  2. Write a post to show your award.
  3. Give a brief story of how your blog started.
  4. Give two pieces of advise to new bloggers.
  5. Select 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to.
  6. Comment on each blog to let them know they have been nominated and provide a link to the post you have created.

1. DONE

2. This is it!

3. How My Blog Started

I started this blog at my children’s urgings that I should write a blog…and that it should be about them. Hence, Coral Reef, Star Fish, Ocean Breeze and Sea Pony were born (see my About page). I have always thought that parenting is one of those things that you do without instructions, and you never know if you’re doing it quite right or not. This is how the title Swimming Without the Manual came about. I wanted this blog to be a place where other parents could come and see and maybe relate to my own insecurities and imperfections about parenting, and where I could connect with others who are also “in the same boat”. I wanted people to know that we are all basically swimming without the manual when it comes to parenting.

4. Two Pieces of Advise

Given that I have blogged so sporadically, I don’t feel qualified to give advise here but this is what I have…for what it’s worth:

  • Write from your heart. I’m not saying that you have to reveal your deepest darkest secrets in your blog (there are other blogs for that), but my favorite blogs are usually those where the blogger lets his or her humanity and personality show through.
  • Go see people. Blogging is a community. I love to write, and I can write in hundreds of other forms (maybe not hundreds, but you know…). When I say that I miss blogging, however, what I mean is that I miss the community; I miss the interaction. Reading other people’s blogs serves you in several ways. One is that you learn from others. You may see techniques, layouts and, of course, life experiences that you can learn from. Also, commenting in other blogs is a good way to get your own blog noticed. When you read a post that you like, don’t be shy to leave a meaningful comment. Writers love to know what their readers think (I know I do). Leaving a comment leaves a little piece of you and a small sample of your writing on that site. That blogger or someone from their audience might like what they see and click on over to your blog 🙂

5. My nominees: (in no particular order and intentionally not numbered)

6. Done

 

 

Blogging 101: Writing Feeds Me

~ coralswimming ~ 4 Comments

Please bear with me while I learn. In an attempt to write more regularly as well as discover a few ins and outs about blogging that I am certain I am not familiar with, I have registered for Blogging 101 on Blogging U. For the next three weeks, I will be completing a daily assignment designed to help me develop and advance my blog (I can use some help).

Please forgive me if I veer off topic as I try to complete the assignments, although I will try my best to stay true to the theme of the blog. Today’s assignment is to introduce myself to the world. Here it goes:

Although I introduced myself on my About page, I suppose I can elaborate a little bit here. Why do I write this blog? I have always needed to write. As a child and adolescent, I wrote poems and kept journals. I continued through adulthood until life took over…career, marriage, motherhood, etc.

The funny thing was that life may have trampled all over my writing habit, but my need to write never extinguished. I always felt like I had to somehow find my way back…and then I stumbled upon blogging…and my kids said I should write a blog about them.

I was in. I could be a mommy and still feed my hunger to put words to thoughts and feelings…to paint a picture with my words. This is what I try to do in this blog. I try to capture the essence of a parenting moment and recreate it in writing. As a bonus, readers comment on my posts. I absolutely love this interaction!

It seems like a symbiotic relationship to me. Being a mom gives me material to feed my writing soul. I hope to continue to write more regularly, as I find the discipline to make time for this essential part of my day.