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On Summiting

no more mom blogs

When I started this website I had a few goals in mind. I wanted to hit a certain number of readers. I did that. I wanted some accolades. Check that off the list. I liked the idea of some TV appearances. I’ve done too many to count. I wanted to pay some bills. I just bought a new car. The bills have been paid. There are limits to where a blog can take you. There are severe limits to where a mom blog can take you.

Mommy Blogging bores me. Some people love it, and I recognize that there’s a robust community, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been part of it. I understand the need to share experiences like when your baby has green poop, is teething, or potty training. This is when we look to other mothers for information. 50 years ago the other mothers were home raising their kids; we knocked on each other’s front doors and asked questions. Today other mothers have blogs and you can ask there.

Mom Blogging was unique at some point, in that there was a certain technical skill required to set up a blog. Of course it wasn’t actually all that complicated, but it was slightly difficult to attain and the bar of entry was marginally high. During the time I’m writing this, I’d be willing to bet that a minimum of 400 new Mom Blogs have hit the internet. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just a thing. Mom Blogging is a crowded space, for the most part it’s just like any other career where most people aren’t particularly good at it and a few are. The folks who are good at it are so good, they are such talented writers that it appears effortless and attainable, like something anyone could do. So we all jump in. It’s like watching mountain climbers on National Geographic and somehow you find yourself at REI buying boots and moisture-wicking bottom layers.

I’ve summited in this space, and for the last few months I’ve just been hanging out on top of this mountain dangling my feet and tossing pebbles while whistling old tunes. I’ve let muscles atrophy, and I’ve lazed around in the sunshine without creating new goals for myself. I’ve climbed the mountain and not bothered to identify my next climb. That was a problem.

It’s long past time to stop leading with my womb. Women’s issues are everyone’s issues, and I’m much rather talk to you about the Mazda that’s in my driveway this week than how to set limits for your kids. I’m writing about the wrong things. I’m writing about the mountain I already climbed, not the one I have in my crosshairs.

I have an incredible show I’m shooting and will share it with you soon. I have blogger opportunities to share with women who are still happy with Mom Blogging. I want to talk about cars and travel in the same manner that we talk to one another over a good meal. I want to talk about what we love and hate and I want to ditch the insider lingo that no one really cares about anyhow. I don’t want to blog about blogging, it’s dull, and it’s low-hanging fruit. I can and will do better than that.

I can’t stop being a mom. I’ll always see the world through mom-colored glasses. I’m just going to formally step away from the Mom Blogger title. I’ve done it in increments. Today is the end of it.

I climbed this mountain. I summited. Now it’s time to climb down the mountain and tackle the next challenge. The only guarantee I make is that it will be fun.

8 thoughts on “On Summiting”

  1. Dearest Jessica, I think you’ve long since outgrown the moniker of Mommy Blogger. And even blogger.

    You’re a writer! A raconteuse. You’ve been telling a wide variety of stories for a long time.

    So you’re going to tell mom stories less often? Fine. But you’ve been telling vagina stories, marriage stories, daughter stories (you have your own mom!), wife stories, and many others for so long.

    I’m surprised it’s taken you so long to realize you now are what you always were… a writer

    And a wonderful one at that!

  2. As someone who is essentially starting parenting over with a baby, I am accepting that Mom Blogger, and ultimately mom, is something I want to be. I think everyone needs to be what calls them. Your journey is a new way…mine, well, its beginning over. I hope we both are able to share to those that matter and those that will matter .

    trisha

  3. I have never been a traditional “mommy blogger” and now am even changing my domain to prove that point. I got sucked into the whole drama filled world of “mom bloggers” when I first started out and quickly learned it wasn’t for me. I am far too political and snarky to fit into that particular mold. I’m a woman with a child and a blog. And strong opinions on nearly every subject. That is so not “mommy blogger” material.

    I don’t think you’ve ever truly fit that mold either.

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