Y Is For YOU (A to Z Blogging Challenge 2015)

Today is Y.  As I walked from the parking lot to the hospital this morning I wondered what Y words I knew and could write a about. The only thing that came to mind was the color yellow. Not my favorite. And then it hit me: 

YOU!

I don’t do resolutions; however, this year I decided to set a goal of blogging 2-3 times a week. I’ve had a personal blog now for about 6 years and my posts were extremely irregular.  Outside of a friend or two, no one ever read anything I wrote unless I inadvertently linked it to my Pinterest, FaceBook,  Google+, or Yahoo accounts (I also have a Twitter  account, but don’t  really know how to use it either)—and that suited my shy side just fine. In fact I didn’t even allow moderated comments until this challenge. Now, because you have been so kind and encouraging, I’m actually considering letting all comments be posted—even without moderation. Yikes!  I still am fuzzy on how I actually linked—I think I’m doing the same thing every day, but some days it doesn’t work. Anyway, 2-3 posts a week was my goal.

Until I stumbled onto an article about the A to Z Blogging Challenge. On March 31^st.   

With  no preparation or much forethought, I joined up—hours before the deadline.

I had a lot of fun reading the different blogs I found along the way. The Five before and the Five after me, along with several I sought out because I liked the Blog Name. I even was bold enough to seek out a Blog Administrator to offer suggestions.  :~)  I think they do an awesome job—but it’s difficult to find my own blog when the number changes. I’ve never found the search engine the FAQs talk about. So I spent valuable blog reading time trying to locate the five before and after, and the ones I remembered by name. Most days I have to rely on the email alerts for the ones I signed up to receive. So I mentioned it would be nice if the registration had a way to edit the content code before or after we registered (I forgot to assign mine) and if, in addition to an search box on the list page, if the list could also be subdivided by topic. I would love to read more personal blogs, travel blogs, pet blogs, etc. to compare how YOU write. 

I was impressed and inspired by all of YOUR blogs:  some of you blogged by themes as unique as photos you have taken, literary characters, poems, food, Dr. Seuss, Texas towns, places you’ve traveled, activities you participate in, causes you support,  your pets, etc.  It’s been a blast!  You have inspired me.  I’m already thinking and planning what I might do next year.

Before this month, my posts were sporadic, unorganized, and largely read only by me. This month they have been a little less sporadic, and still very unorganized, but YOU have stopped by to read my words from time to time. YOU have left comments. YOU have even followed me—still sort  of disconcerting even though I’m starting to get used to total strangers following my Pinterest Boards (even the ones about Bandit—that really freaked me out the first time I received follow ship notification that a total stranger was following my dog).

YOU have been an encouragement~and I Thank YOU!!  

Now I just need to find a tech-savvy eight year old to teach me about linking before I try this again….

This blog post is my contribution to the A to Z Blogging Challenge 2015, in which bloggers from around the world, representing every skill level and interest, blog every Monday through Saturday during the month of April, using successive letters of the alphabet as the daily inspiration.

We are in the HomeStretch and tomorrow we finnish the challenge with "Z." 

Once again, I have no clue what I'll write about...