Posts Tagged: Blissdom2011
How Fast Things Can Change
When I first started blogging— in 2005—I was doing it purely to have a place to keep stories of the kids together. From 1998 to 2005 I had posted on bulletin boards, and realized that the stories I had shared were eventually lost in cyberspace, over time. Someone had shared a link to Dooce, and I was turned on. I could do that, I thought. I could write all the stories about our life so that one day the kids could look back and read it all. Maybe they’d laugh. Maybe they’d cry. But, they’d know that even through every up and down that they were loved beyond the words and hugs and kisses. The stories told were important. I wanted them documented and kept together, for posterity’s sake.
In 2007 I was turned on to a site called Cre8Buzz. It was there that I found “my people”, those that would become an integral part of my online community through blogging. I’d also been re-inspired to take up photography again, and the stories went from a few lines to a few paragraphs and more. Fellow bloggers would come to me, read, comment, and I would do the same. Some would come and go, others stayed. And, stayed, and stayed.
Over the years blogging has changed in ways I never would have imagined. There have been conferences, speaking engagements, trips, promotions and giveaways, brand relationships, sponsorships, business building, and solid networking. These are constantly evolving, but the one thing that stays the same are those people that became “my people”. The numbers have grown, but they are the one mainstay. People that know [you]. People that get [you]. People that love [you] unconditionally with respect and gratitude.
It’s truly been one of the biggest blessings of this little hobby that started all because I wanted to tell stories about my life.
My Bliss: Part II
I had only planned to go to Blissdom for one night. I would go in for my Workshop on Wednesday, and leave, after lunch, on Thursday. I was sad about it, but I just didn’t have the money to stay the whole time. This did not sit well with me. My heart nagged me. I needed to do something to allow me to stay the whole time. That’s when I threw out, here, on Twitter, and on Facebook, that I was offering *Heads or Tails mini-sessions.
It worked. I booked the number needed to be able to go the entire time. I started to make driving and sleeping arrangements. Things started to come together perfectly. When the weather became a minor issue, I decided it would be best to leave a day early. Luckily, that worked out, too. And, just in time the boots and skirt that I had ordered, almost two weeks prior, arrived just before we were all ready to shove off.
On Tuesday morning, I set off with Renee (and her little boy, Mekhi), to Tennessee.
When we got to the hotel we ate and gabbed.
I’ve known Renee for a couple years now and she is nothing but class and beauty; to boot, she’s articulate and smart and funny! I’ve had the pleasure of taking two trips with Renee, but this trip to Nashville was the best. We laughed a lot. That’s definitely a prerequisite for a good car trip.
Soon after we ate I got a text from Lotus. She was in the Opryland, so we met up and headed to our room. Her belly was growling so I introduced her to Stax, and then we went to our Wisdom Workshop meeting. There we saw a bunch of our friends. It was real, and it was here.
After the meeting Lotus, Schmutzie, and I walked the long way to Stax so that Schmutzie could eat. Along the way we intercepted a spectacular water and light show. It was mesmerizing with the moving water, the music, the darkness and the lights. We took that moment to capture it, but we also took that moment to thoroughly enjoy it.
After we sat for a while, Lotus and I walked back to our room to wait for Leslie and Victoria.
Blissdom was officially starting.
My Bliss was here and I was totally ready to accept it.
*Heads or Tails: Michael coined the phrase to describe my Headshot and/or Bouidor mini-sessions. Thanks, Michael, you witty man, you!
