I haven’t written for my blog for a couple of weeks at least. That’s the longest break I’ve ever had from it I think, in the year that I’ve been writing it. In fact I think I missed its first birthday!

One excuse is that I’ve been busy writing for another blog, for a new online parenting community due to launch in beta in a few week’s time. But in addition to being busy, I think I’ve been suffering from a touch of blogger’s block which has ultimately made me go back and ask myself, ‘why do I blog?’

A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed by a PHD student for her thesis on ‘digital possessions’. She had noticed that I was pretty active across social and online media, and wanted to chat to me about my reasons for writing a mummy blog in particular. It was such an interesting conversation and I certainly didn’t expect the questioning to go as deep as it did.

I’ve never really thought about my blog as a possession before, but in a way I guess it is. I’ve built it from scratch and have invested an awful lot of time, emotion and thought into it, and as a result I care about it a great deal. Some of you may keep a scrapbook for your children (which incidentally I do too), and similarly I’ve always considered my blog as a digital scrapbook of memories and stories that I’m building for my daughter, with a few other issues and topics thrown in for good measure.

I have always loved writing…and reading. My lifetime ambition is have a book published. Not an ebook, but a proper hard copy book. I find I usually express myself best through writing. I am always thinking of things to write about and I jot ideas and sentences down whenever a moment of inspiration seizes me. Some of them make it into a blog post, and some don’t. I’ve always been rubbish at keeping diaries or filling in record books, but there’s something about a blog that makes me want to keep up with it. I think I am motivated by the end result. I like to be creating something that is polished and ‘published’.

I used to be a journalist and I’ve always found the moment of publishing something that I’ve written to be really exciting. I still get that buzz now when I publish a blog post. In this case though, it’s more meaningful as I’m not just doing this for me…I’m also doing it for my daughter.

Which brings me onto the question…why do I make my blog public, when it could be private? I know it’s not a show-off thing, as I’m very self-critical of my writing and I always hesitate before clicking ‘publish’.  I really don’t have a straightforward answer, but I know that I love reading the feedback that I get on my posts sometimes, hearing you share your stories and anecdotes back with me. I always get excited when I see a new comment come through, whether it’s from a friend or a stranger. There have been a handful of friends who have really supported me with this, and it’s meant so much to me.

I read a lot of other Mummy blogs and there are many incredibly talented writers out there. Bloggers who make me laugh out loud, bring a tear to my eye, or fill me with inspiration. There are many who I could never attempt to compete with, and so I never will. This is just a small project for me, that helps provide a creative outlet when I need it…and I hope you like reading it!

I’d love to know why other parents blog, and so if you’d like to carry on the theme, please write about your own reasons for blogging and share the link below.

Similarly, if you like reading Mummy or Daddy blogs, I’d be really interested to know why.