Remember me?

I used to blog here a bit, and I’ve broken the number one rule of blogging so many times ie. keep posting. It’s nearly June and this is my first post of the year.

Why?

I don’t want to look at a screen after staring at one all day at work and during my bus commute. On the weekends I don’t want to look at one at all if I can help it – apart from scanning my kids’ school newsletters or how to unblock a toilet.

I don’t have the physical, mental or emotional energy to keep up with a blogging schedule. And I know myself – if I don’t post regularly I’ll quickly lose the will to post at all.

I know I will feel guilty spending my very limited free time chatting about my days and thoughts etc. here when I don’t spend much (or any) time talking to many of my friends and family in real life.

I know I will struggle with my blogging not being ‘good enough’ because I can really only give it scraps of my time and attention on the very outer margins of my weeks or maybe even months. More often than not, it would just be an account of whatever I did that week – no stunningly original insights that I could show off with.

I have an overstuffed life bursting with a fine husband, five still-young children, extended family and friends I would like to see more than a few times a year, and a good and fairly full-on full-time job. Plus a chronic disease which I suspect makes me tire more easily (though maybe it’s being mid-40s, I don’t know, let’s go with the disease it somehow – sadly – sounds sexier).

Old-school blogging is done isn’t it? Is anyone still reading them? I only follow one or two myself.

But

Every time I have a quiet moment when I’m not brain-dead tired, driving in the car by myself or waiting for someone’s swimming class to end, the thought always bounds up like a forgotten helium balloon on a string that I’d like to get back to blogging one day. ALWAYS. I believe that if a desire to do something good keeps tugging at you, you’d better have a good look at it.

I liked the personal connections with readers that comes with blogging. I like recording snippets of days here. I like the feeling that I’ve written something that’s just for me to share with my readers, rather than for an employer to share with theirs.

This year I turn 44. I haven’t written the first of the many books I’ve always wanted to write, I need to build an audience whose interests overlap with mine. If I don’t start finding it now, then seriously when?

So I think I’m going to do this.

Here’s where you come in

I need your help if I’m to keep a blog going that will keep both of us interested. I want to be so excited to tell you or get back to you about something that I’ll get up early in the morning (cough, cough) or head to the computer at night (more likely) to do it. Not every day, but a few times a month. The encouragement for me to keep going will come from you, dear friend, letting me know what you would like me to write about.

I’ll sit and brainstorm ideas myself, but I want this to be a reader-led blog too. What do you want to know? What do you want to chat about? What questions do you have that I might be able to answer, or find someone who does?

Here’s what I’ve got: I’m a writer, a working journalist for a Catholic newspaper. Over the years I’ve read and written myself masses of content on Catholicism, spirituality, prayer and parenting. I live in the suburbs of Sydney, with my husband and five children aged 6-15. With the 7.35 minutes of free time I have each week (more if you count grocery shopping and washing dishes which out of necessity over the years I’ve come to view as leisure activities) I like to read mostly non-fiction, walk the neighbourhood, tend my mini-garden and hang out with friends and family.

I’m interested in Carmelite spirituality, psychology, gardening, art, philosophy, time management. I’m a decent home cook. About parenting, I oscillate between thinking I mostly don’t know what I’m doing or mostly do. I like children much, much more than before I had my own kids. I’m utterly fascinated by people’s life stories sometimes to the point of obsession.

Write to me in the comments or at marilyn.rodrigues@hotmail.com with your blog topics. I can’t promise to follow them all up but I’ll consider whatever you want to send me.

Please drop me a line, and wish me luck!

* UPDATE* Read the first reader response here: 8 work-life balance strategies that actually work.