What a difference a day makes...

(she hums to herself).  But really she is thinking 'What a difference a year makes.'

Please celebrate with me today the one-year anniversary of Ardith's Quest.  I am trying to analyze how I feel with over 250 blogposts to my credit.  Within those 250 "insights into my soul", have you learned anything?  Have I learned anything?  Are you any better off for having read my humble efforts?  Am I a better person for having examined my soul and given it a voice? 

I cannot speak for anyone else, but I have learned that I can speak for myself.  And oh! what freedom there is in that.  To have somewhere to express the ideas circling in my psyche; to have a forum to divulge my insecurities; to simply be able to share my joy with someone that may or may not be interested.  These have been invaluable to me.

Embarking on this quest, I have discovered some things.  Venturing into the unknown, I have reclaimed the bolder side of myself.  I have rekindled my love of writing and at the encouragement of my readers I have begun the venture of writing a book of my own.  I was even able to find a connection with Kermit the Frog in It's Not Easy Being Green.  I have learned that it doesn't matter who, or who is not reading my blog, nor does it matter if I know.  I became Blissfully Unaware and that has made a huge difference in the things I have written.  I write Ardith's Quest mostly for me now.  And isn't that really how it should be?

I have been surprised to discover what a great tool a blog can be.  My mother originally expressed her concern that having a blog may eliminate other forms of communication among the family.  To me, it has only added to the communication.  It has allowed me to share my day-to-day activities with faraway family members, including things that probably would have been overlooked in a phonecall.  Truly a blog expands and enlarges the exchange of news to include not only the facts, but the photos, and the feelings as well.  Indeed, my college students have shared with me that my blog was a nice way for them to "hear mother's voice" on a particularly difficult day; and that I usually had some words of wisdom for them to think about.  For someone dedicated to the idea of preserving family history, I believe I have found a most effective device.

But the true purpose of my blog is not to share the family news.  It isn't to be a travelogue or merely a forum for sharing pictures of the most beautiful granddaughter in the world.  I read somewhere once that the real worthwhile blogposts are those which cause the writer to hover over the "publish post" button; should I, or should I not, share this?  I have found that occasionally I have written posts that show a little too much of my insides, too much of what really makes me tick, and I have hesitated to disperse those parts of me out into the blogosphere for scrutiny and ridicule.  Therein lies the beauty of a blog; it is the freeing of oneself, the liberating of one's 'neurotic' tendencies.  Very therapeutic.

I have found a way to distinguish those posts that expose the most of me, being more than just newsy or informational.  I have labeled them "Me."  Relative to the other posts over the year, the Me posts represent about one-third .  Isn't that how it should be?  I would hope the most effective posts will be those that share who I really am.  Perhaps 100 percent of my posts should uncover the real me......Nah, give a girl a break. ;-)