are you still following me?

When I started this blog in September, the second post I wrote was are you following me? a tirade against followers who are not readers. Well, it comes as no surprise to me (I know me so well) that I disagree with myself just months later. I was expressing my truth as I knew it at the time. So I don’t blame me. Live and learn.

Just a recent follower lurking in the bushes – that’s not creepy at all.

I’ve been making a tremendous effort since September to read, follow, like, and comment on as many other blogs as humanly possible given that I also have a life. Coincidentally, I was unemployed for the first month that I was writing this blog, which gave me a big chunk of time to devote to those endeavors. I have to thank everyone who gave feedback and commented on “are you following me?” for providing me with the incentive to do all that blog reading. Your comments were the catalyst for a real shift in my perspective. And what all this reading, following, commenting, and liking has taught me is even more important:

There are thousands of totally bitchin’ blogs written by insightful, entertaining, witty bloggers.

And I would read every post on each one if I had a bottomless well of time available to do so. But that is just freaking impossible. Now I know. Because I have tried. So you all keep on rocking the awesomeness that is you. And I will keep doing my very best to read as much of that awesomeness as I very well can while also keeping my kids clothed, clean, fed, and spended time with (because spended is totally a word – bug off spell check, I know what I’m doing) and my husband spended time with too and, well, you get my point.

Wait. Do you? My point is that I am following your blog, and a lot of other blogs too, all of which are great. I make an effort to read what you write, but I can’t always read it all. So I don’t have the expectation that you will read everything I write either. If you follow me, cool. If you read often, fabulous. If you drop in every once in a long while and read one thing, cool too. Whatever. You do you. I get it. I appreciate as little or as much reading of the Honking Goose as you do. I am thankful for every page view, every like, every comment, every follow. No strings attached.

Feathered and unfettered

The reason I feel the need to get all this out there is because I still get comments from new readers on the “are you following me?” thread. People who say to me, I totally agree with you, thank you so much for following my blog. And I’m like, your welcome, but I don’t even totally agree with me anymore so now I feel like a shmuck for getting you to agree with me. That is part of the beauty of a blog, though. It documents our journey, our process. It shows where we have been and how far we have come.

I am HERE. NOW. Are you still following me? Well, let’s all go splash in a puddle, okay?