It's Funny How Things Change.


Hello, all!  It's been quite awhile since I've sat down to write anything here other than my monthly challenges with Paige.  I've not meant to leave everyone hanging, but I've felt like ideas and time to write them have been fleeting.  Plus, I've got a pretty big project in the works right now that's taking up some time, but there will be more on that soon enough.  For now, I've been thinking a lot about my place on the Internet and how it's changed since I first started connecting with people online.

In late 2010 and early 2011, I was home with one 18-month-old in a mid-renovation house and was going a little bit stir-crazy.  We were still relatively new to the area, and without a job to go to, there weren't many people for me to get to know, especially in the dead of winter when everyone stays closed up in their homes.  I got myself on Etsy, started the blog, and worked on building out social media accounts.  I met people who were like me, who were easy to talk to, who made cool things, and it was fun to chat about nonsense.  It still is, but now it's harder to find the time.

Right now I instead find myself with two growing children- the 18-month-old is almost six and his sister is three and a half.  Our house is still a work in progress, as we've been finishing off one last section of the basement and my husband has decided to take on painting the house this summer, but it's not the frenetic blur of renovation activity it once was.  Now we are wrapped up in more things outside of the house- birthday parties, get-togethers, dinners, playdates.  We know actual people now, and we're generally running off to one place or another, more often than not with things back to back.  In addition, we've started the kids in an activity each- Gus has been going to soccer and Greta is in gymnastics, both one day a week.  They both enjoy it, and for that I'm glad, but part of me also mourns that time at home.

Time at home, though, is now a blur of chores.  I find myself spending large chunks of time out of the house, running from location A to location B to location C, but having lag time in between and having to come up with a location B 2.0 to waste a little time.  It's exhausting being on the run so much and then trying to catch up at home.  Whole days are lost to being out and about, so then whole days are lost to returning the house to order, doing five and six loads of laundry in between clutter cleanup and bathroom duty.  It's a never-ending back-and-forth process.  And we're so lucky to have all of these things to do and the ability to do them, but part of me loves just the idea of being quiet at home and chatting on the Internet.

I'm looking forward to summer, when folks are away on vacations, when we don't have to be out to catch the bus every morning, where we might have a break from the constant motion.  I just looked at my July and August calendar and almost sighed out loud with bliss at the total emptiness of both months.  It will change, but for right now I'm reveling in what could be.

Funny enough, I also notice many friends who I met through Etsy are also online less, or in a different capacity than just hanging out and chatting.  Everyone's lives are in a different place now- moves, kids, new jobs change the amount of time we have to ourselves.  I feel a little better that it's not just me, that it's just life moving forward as it should be, though it does make me sad, for example, to read back on this blog and see names of people who I used to talk to quite frequently having moved on to other things and who have, for all intents and purposes, fallen off the Internet.  I'd like to chat them up and see how things are going but that's kind of awkward.

Then it comes down to what I want from my online time.  I still feel like I am constantly behind and like I am always playing the catch-up game, mostly because that's exactly how it is.  I can't just focus on what I need to do and get it done, and really, I can't, because my life is playing out in 30-minute intervals, and who has time to think in that short amount of time?  I'm hoping that summer will help me to slow down and give me some working time while the kids play in the yard.  I want to try and keep the connections that I've built and continue to interact with the people I've met along the way, but at the same time, I feel like my purpose with the Internet is different now, and I feel a little lost with it all.

How do you feel about the person you were when you first started putting yourself out there online?  Are you in a different place now, too?  For those who don't blog or have a presence on social media- how are you different from where you were just a few years ago?  Are there any noticeable differences?

Comments

  1. lately, I feel just like you! constantly on the go with no end in sight. I feel like a hamster that can't get off the wheel! I have had to simplify my life just so that I can function the next day when the hubby is working long hours. I love my online space and I never want to let it go, but sometimes it just isn't a priority and that's ok!

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  2. I often feel the opposite of this lately. I have more time than I had when I started my Etsy shop because I'm no longer teaching, and you know the story of the friends. Friends that I had through my teaching job no longer hang out, and the ones that did now have kids (which you know the story on that too). In that regard, I feel like I've been able to slow down in my life for once, only making it as busy as I'd like to be.

    However, I have to agree about the internet stuff. I usually have time in the morning when I check email, twitter, blogs, etc. and also in the late afternoon when my day is winding down. I don't have the time like I used to though, and I will have times where I go a couple days without tweeting. I think it has more to do with how I've been spending my down time-- stepping away from the computer rather than automatically choosing to spend down time on the computer. Instead of checking in on twitter or email, I end up doing something actually productive for my own life that isn't work related.

    Just two days ago, I signed up for a social media scheduling app for this very reason. My intentions are different, and I just don't want to have to consciously think about the marketing aspects anymore when I could be using that time for something else. Ahh, looooong comment, but such an interesting and relevant topic.

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  3. I've never really stopped blogging since I started, with the exception of a week off here or there. But the nature of my blog has changed somewhat...it's mostly become a photo journal. I realized at some point that that's the type of blogging I like to do most, and those are the types of blogs I like to read as well...the ones that are more personal, less trying to be an online magazine or "lifestyle brand," whatever that is. Most of my favorite bloggers have largely stopped blogging though. I've kept in touch with a couple of them through email and instagram. It might seem weird to make the initial contact, but I'm sure they'd love to hear from you and know that an internet pal still thinks of them. :)

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  4. I'm definitely in a different place than I was a few years ago when I started my blog. I have less and less time on the internet and my job takes so much out of me when I come home I don't really want to be near my computer. I do miss the random ramblings of things and I'm always thinking about how I can improve my blog and go back to the basics. I had a thought this morning and I was like this would be a great blog post and so I wrote it. I need to do that more often even if I can post the post right away. But today I did!

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  5. It's totally not just you. I'm blogging less and just saying less online in general. I still look at my Twitter and Instagram a few times a day but I feel like I've just been observing more than putting things out there. It just kind of happened lol! I don't think i'm taking any kind of break, I just have nothing to say at the moment. I mean there's stuff going on, but I don't feel like sharing it. I usually feel the most productive in the morning and by 1:00 pm I'm done and don't want to think about doing anything else. I'm totally a different person now than I started being all social online. I worry about being "forgotten" sometimes but I guess the friends who matter will still stick around. :)

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  6. My blogging is very intermittent, although I do not have kids, I find everyday is a challenge to rank prioritize and get enough done.

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  7. Paige @ Little NostalgiaMay 20, 2015 at 9:11 AM

    I have been feeling EXACTLY this way! When I started blogging in mid-2009, I was still working in radio and needed a way to pass the time at an incredibly boring job. I was a producer for a DJ who pre-recorded her show, so I was alone in the on-air studio for 5 hours a day. That's how I discovered Etsy and all of you guys! My computer quotient stayed at about that level as I continued into jewelry-making and design school, but now that I'm done and seeing local clients, entire days go by and I don't really get online. I'll check my email and poke around on my phone a little, but that's it. I won't read blogs (obviously, because I missed this one yesterday!), I won't write anything, I usually forget to post on social media... It still feels kind of weird to not do those things everyday, but weird isn't necessarily bad. I'm just not used to my new life yet.

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  8. And you and I have kids the same age, so you know exactly what I'm talking about! I think it's getting harder as it they get older.

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  9. I think things change in life and we just get into a different place from when we started. It's almost like I don't know how to continue on the way I was since my real life is so different.

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  10. I have a hard time just putting thoughts together that I want to put out there. Right now my time is so chopped up, and I'd like to figure out a way to put it back together better and connect again.

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  11. I signed up for Hootsuite for Nutmeg Collective, but you know, you still have to take the time to program it, so no matter what, it's a time-suck. It's so hard to stay relevant online without putting a ton of time into it. I see that in my shop, which I've totally neglected, and the views and sales are just so down. I need to realign my work priorities- just as soon as I can find the time!

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