Blissfully Unaware

How many things in our lives can we really just "let go" and not worry about anymore?  Probably more than we ever will.  At the suggestion of a friend, I think I have decided to let something go and, in turn, become blissfully unaware.  As you know, ever since I lost my children to their maturity and desire to leave home (and me) to go to college, I have been nurturing a new "child", a little blog I like to call Ardith's Quest.  I have watched as its readership has grown and, more importantly, as its direction has clarified.  I have observed the "author"  becoming more confident in sharing herself; more confident in addressing subjects close to her heart.  It has been an interesting venture.

Part of the process has included a statistics counter, which breaks down the actual visitor information to more than just blog hits.  It has tracked the number of new visitors per day, repeat visitors, where they are in the world, and the path they used to find my blog.  Fascinating stuff.  Kind of addictive stuff. 

It has led me to question my motivation.  Why am I writing this blog?  Is it to have a creative outlet?  To encourage personal thinking at a deeper level?  To exercise my writing skills?  Or is it to see which subjects will draw in the most readers from the broadest locations?

I think my little stat counter has jeopardized the integrity of my writing.  I know it certainly has driven me crazy, wondering who is reading and where they are from.

I want to write because it makes me feel better when I have somewhere to express my thoughts.  I want to write because it is a great way of preserving my family history; stories, pictures, and all.  Every few months I have my blog posts bound into books which I hope will become treasures to my children and grandchildren.

I choose to become blissfully unaware of who is reading my blog.  It doesn't matter.  I love it when someone  mentions something I have written, something that made an impression on them.  That is the real value in writing a blog--knowing that I have made a connection with someone through my thoughts.  And it is kind of thrilling to know that my readership possesses an anonymity, too.  Makes it more mysterious.

Feel free to continue sharing your comments, anonymously if you like.  Feel free to share my blog with your friends if you think it worthy to pass along.  I don't plan on going anywhere for awhile; I like it here.  Posts may be a little sparse over the next month as I am knee deep in wedding preparations.  Be patient with me.  And maybe be a little jealous of me as I become, at least in one area of my life, blissfully unaware.