A couple of disclaimers...
1. I'm not writing this for attention, or ego stroking... complements are very welcome and I appreciate support but this is a decision I've made and I feel I owe some kind of explanation
2. If I say anything "negative" about blogging, please assume I am referring purely to my own personal feelings. Anything said on here doesn't reflect on blogs I read and love, nor the people who write them.
Now I've got you all interested...
I think I am going to give blogging up for a while. Indefinitely.
Nothing has happened. No-one has upset me. Things have just changed. I've been lacking in motivation since I got home from Australia, not even being tagged in memes or regular posts like Meal Planning Monday or Some Things I Love have been able to entice me back. I have been feeling a bit wobbly about having everything OUT THERE and so PUBLIC and even started an anonymous blog to continue in years to come, somewhere I could write in privacy and relative safety... but I am still feeling different about blogging all of a sudden.
The truth is, I just don't want to blog any more.
I don't want to mentally write posts every time something vaguely interesting happens, or feel pressure to have something for my lovely readers to read. I don't want to worry about people knowing where I work and what I do and when I go on holiday. I just want to get on with life without assuming that people should know what I am doing.
This is a really tough decision to make because it is so permanent - yes I could just have the blog lying dormant and resurrect it when I am feeling more creative but to be honest, I am not a wishy washy kind of person. I want to be decisive about this. This blog has led me to some amazing friends but I will still have those without this blog. I will still READ blogs and COMMENT on blogs and of course I will be on Twitter to chat to those amazing friends. I suppose I am just realising that life can go on and people will still be there even without the presence of this blog. I am not that important.
I know that many of you have enjoyed reading and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and lovely comments and helpful hints. Please don't see this as me dismissing that. But I think you'll agree (especially if you blog yourself) that a blog reflects you and your feelings, and there isn't much point in a blog that doesn't want to be written.
I am going to go through my posts, all 300 odd of them spanning 4 years, and delete all but my recipes which are handy to have and my Messy Church craft posts which according to my stats come up in people's searches for ideas. But in time I will probably delete the blog altogether...
As an aside - thank you so much to those of you who I shared my new blog with. Ridiculous as it is, I have made this decision about that one too, despite the high hopes I had for it. I need to take a break completely.
Perhaps one day I will return to blogging, perhaps not. If I do then I'll want a fresh start anyway. In the meantime it is time to say goodbye to the Big Eejit.
I will be on Twitter so please keep in touch (if you aren't already)
Thank you so so much for being lovely readers
God bless xxx