Something To Say

I was looking at my traffic here at Our Homeschool over the last few years.  Before February of 2005, when we lost Sarah, I had a small following of somewhere between 500 - 1000 hits per month.  Blogging was fun.  It was a way to talk about what we were doing and what was on my mind, and most of the people who read it were people I already knew.

That February it all changed.  Word got out on blogs both pro-choice and pro-life that we were making an incredibly difficult decision regarding our daughter.  Reading back over my posts I think I did a poor job of explaining what I had been told.  I spoke to so many doctors in such a short time, and Sarah's problems were so far outside of my scope as a nurse who works primarily with senior citizens.  My blog became a place to express my pain, and work through my test of faith.  People came to read my struggles and my readership went through the roof.

That month I received more than 25,000 hits to my blog.  Only a tiny fraction of those who came to look actually commented.  That was okay with me, really.  Anything less than supportive was just painful, and I was in enough pain already.  Looking at the hits, I expected that it would all die down once it was all over.  And it did.  Honestly, people can only watch a train wreck for so long before they have to move on.

What I didn't expect was how many people who discovered this blog during such a turbulent time in our lives, would stick around to see what I had to say after it was over.  Even now, after several lengthy pauses in my blog writing, I'm still getting over 10,000 hits per month.  I'm just one woman.  One woman in a modest house in the Midwest with a bunch of kids.  I screw up and do things right.  I try to live out my faith, though I don't always succeed.  I don't even know that I always have something to say.  And yet, some of you have been so faithful to keep checking this blog out.

Some blogs will tell you how to be a better Catholic/Christian/Wife/Mother/Homeschooler/Homemaker.  I don't have one of those blogs.  I have an every-woman blog.  One that I hope makes my readers feel that they're good enough, even if they're frustrated with the kids, late getting dinner on the table, or still have laundry sitting unfolded.  Which reminds me...I really should put that laundry away before my wonderful husband starts wondering where on earth all his pants have gone.

Thank you so much to all of my readers who've stuck it out with me.  Sometimes just seeing the number and knowing that someone is reading my blog is a form of support all in itself.