What I want you to know about being a blogger

A couple of weeks ago I met up with a blog reader who had recognized me at our county fair this summer and after chatting back and forth a bit by email, she asked if we could meet up! We finally were able to align both our schedules to do so a few weeks ago. I had a wonderful time and it was really neat meeting a young girl who has such a solid head on her shoulders (Hi Brittany)! :)

I'll never forget the first time I met someone, outside of those I know, who read my blog. It was a year ago and I was many, many hours from where I live. I was actually at a small country church and I turned to introduce myself to someone and before I could even get a word out of my mouth, she said, "I already know you, you have a blog!". I was a bit stunned and think I managed to just mumble and nod and say, "Yep, I do!". I'll admit, it freaked me out a bit. Here I was sitting across the table from someone who knew everything about me and yet I knew nothing about her.

And that was my first real glimpse into how large (yet small) the blogging world is.

Since that time, I've met two others who have been brave enough to approach me in public and introduce themselves as readers of my blog. My mom has also told me of people she will run into around town that will tell her they read my blog.

It's still strange for me because I don't consider myself a "big" blogger and to have even a small number of people recognize me is different. At the same time, it's made me really look at who I am both in real life and on my blog.

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I definitely want others to know who and what I represent myself as on my blog is the same person I represent in real life. If anything I probably am a bit more bold on my blog than I am in real life because it often is easy to hide behind a screen. :) That in and of itself is a whole other blog post for a different day!

At the same time, I want those who meet me to know that I am human. If I blog about cloth diapering and you see my baby out in public in a disposable, please don't think I lied. I really do cloth diaper, I just happen to not use them that often in public. If I tout myself as a babywearer and you see me carrying Xiomara in to a store in her carseat, it is because that is what works best for me.

No I'm really not this crazy, just silly sometimes! :)

I'm not perfect, but I'm me. I guess I want you to know that I'm real. I'm not a celebrity. Not even someone special for that matter. I don't know it all (even if I sometimes come across that way in a post), and I'd really love to meet you.

So if you see me, please introduce yourself and then let's plan a time we can take our kids to play on the playground or leave the kids at home and have a cup of coffee and chat. For I would love to get to know you just as much as you know me! :)