Don't Go Away

(This blog was prompted by reading Wenda's post today.)

It seems that we (the royal we of the "bloggers-who-like-to-write" variety) all have moments of self-doubt about the validity of our endeavours. Many of my favourite bloggers have gone through periods of: Is this interesting; is this boring; is this just too stupid to post, am I wasting my time, and who cares anyway? Sometimes, they delete their blog. Sometimes, they say good-bye and tell you why. Sometimes, they just stop posting.

I'm a nosy and curious person – always have been – probably borne of living in multiple families and households at a young age. I learned to be a good listener; and by way of listening, learned a lot about human nature and about how people tick. It's stood me in good stead in the things I've done in my life. I've found that blogs are the closest thing to eavesdropping and getting inside the hearts and minds of thousands of people you'd never get to meet in the flesh. I love it.

Trouble is, I get attached to certain blogs and the personalities attached to them. So when a favourite blogger stops or just fades away with fewer and fewer posts, I want to say, "Don't go! I'm interested in what you have to say. I like hearing your thoughts. I want to know about your favourite books and restaurants; what pissed you off; made you happy; frustrated you; brought you to tears of joy or sorrow. I want to keep reading your perfect torrent of words and luscious imagery. Please come back."

I know it's unrealistic to expect people to blog indefinitely. Maybe their interests change; or they've said all they want to say; or it's no longer fun; or any number of other equally valid reasons – but doggone it, I'll still miss them when they're gone.

For those of you on the cusp of self-doubt, wondering if it's worthwhile: Don't quit just because you think no one is interested. You'd be surprised. Write because you want to; because you have something you need to say; because it makes you happy or fullfilled or connected or just because . . .

I've thought about no longer blogging. One day, it'll happen. Maybe I'll write a good-bye blog; maybe I'll fade away; maybe I'll just delete the whole darn thing, leaving nothing but a broken link or forward to a site of pomegranate recipes. Till then, I'll keep posting my hodgepodge of words and keep reading others' blogs