I've only been blogging for about six months but in that time my life has completely changed and as a result the lives of those close to me have changed too.
Gone are the evenings in front of the TV flaked out and snoring by 9pm. Now my evenings are spent sitting opposite my hubby at the kitchen table, both of us engrossed in our Twitter feeds or blogs.
Funnily enough we have settled into the same 'Twitter Tribe' and are often caught up in the same conversations.
He started a blog too. Inspired by an an amazingly kind act that shook the roots of everything that he believed in.
Then there are the people that I have met on line. People that I've bonded with without visual distractions. People that you know care for you and look out for you - probably more than you 'real' friends do. You find yourself looking out for things that you know they will like and you speak openly without the constraints of everyday life.
Surprise parcels in the post..... when was the last time you got one of those from your everyday friends?
Yesterday with the postman came a box full of lovingly sewn cushions and dresses for my children, made by one very special person who stayed up nearly all night making them for me despite having four demanding children of her own.
How many of you regular friends would do that?
Then there are the people that I have met and formed business relationships with. I have a fab new client who I was following on Twitter. She came to me for advice - not knowing that I was already watching her - and it took a while for us both to realise.
We are a couple of weeks into our business relationship and what a couple of weeks they have been! She is totally inspirational - with six kids in tow. You should stop by her site and have a look at her revolutionary new product. It's called easidream and it is awesome!
Then there is a lady over in LA. She has gone out of her way to help me in a project that I am setting up this weekend for one of my clients.
She didn't have to do that - we have never met. She has not only showed kindness to me - but she also sent @byyanto a stack of the Pearsons Salted Nut Roll that he fell in love with after me gifting him some on my return from Chicago.
She went out, bought them for him, packed them up and sent them to him here in the UK - all the way from sunny LA!
And then there is my boy - Sonny. What I have witnessed over the last few weeks has been nothing short of amazing. I have seen him blossom and grow and this is entirely down to his blog.
On Saturday we went to Drayton Manor Park - with free passes offered to Sonny. When we were back home after a wonderful day out I commented to him that he looks really happy at the moment and his reply totally shocked and surprised me.
He told me that he is happy for the first time in his life - that he feels like he has a purpose, something to look forward.
He is eight years old and I felt like a failure as a parent at that moment. All any mum wants is for her children to be happy.
But he went on to explain that he hadn't been happy at school - that there was someone in his class who was making him very unhappy but he now felt like that didn't matter anymore because he has his blog - he is TotallySonny and people want to listen to what he has to say!
The transformation in him has been nothing short of a miracle. I'm not saying that he went around under an Eeyore cloud before. He is popular, cute, clever and everyone loves him. He is just one of those kids that people take to. But he didn't have the spark that I have seen grow inside him over the last few weeks.
I wonder if he will think back to this summer and remember it as fondly as I will? I'm not sure how long his blog obsession will go on for but while it does I will nurture, encourage and promote the hell out of it. If he takes nothing more than this new found confidence then that's enough for me.
Blogging it seems is turning out to be a family obsession. The girls want a part of it too! Sonny tells FunnyGirl - "You will have to wait until you are seven at least." and to ModelGirl he is offering advice on what people would like to read if and when her time comes.....
So that is what my new life on the internet has brought me. A shared love of reading and writing and an amazing bunch of new buddies who I know will be my true friends forever.
Please do stop by the little fellas blog. He absolutely loves reading the comments that so many of you leave. You can find him at TotallySonny.com
Sophie4Sophie - you rock. xx
Sprmama - you are one of the kindest people I have known xx I hope that you enjoy your lunch at the Ivy on Saturday with annabel Karmel - you deserve it.
It's good that blogging has brought you together as a family. That's lovely.
ReplyDeleteModelGirl looks fab in her Sophie4Sophie dress.
:)
That's awesome! Blogging has done much of the same for me also - WOW I am a different person than I was a year and a half ago! It's always great to hear how it positively affects other families too!
ReplyDeleteI have just started out in this blogging world and already LOVE it! Love your blog I must say! I am also in fashion but ladieswear not childrenswear x
ReplyDeleteWow! I don't know what to say.. Thank you so much! :-) I loved every minute of making the cushions and bits for the kids, I really do hope they like them! :-)
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be where I am today without my online life! it makes up 85% of my business!!
Twitter is a fab place for instant hits, Information and publicity.. I love it!
you and your family are an inspiration to me and mine! you really are all Beautiful people :-) I feel so proud to know you! :-)
I think Sonny's Blog is super fab! I know my 8yo son loves reading it, I must get him to write more comments!!
I hope all your ventures into blogging and social networking help your clients to see what an amazing tool it can be! Yay to you!!
xxxxx
I too have really enjoyed "meeting" new people through twitter etc. It has opened my eyes up to more than just my own little world and usual circle of people I mix with in "real" life. I have made some amazing friends, learned loads and recieved some excellent support and advice both personally and professionally. There are lots of you out there that I hold in very high regard and it has given me something to aspire to for the future. It is great to see how other mums with kids juggle their personal and work lives.
ReplyDeletePS. I have really enjoyed reading Sonny's blog, perhaps because he around the same age as my son Harry (who by the way is now nagging me for a blog of his own,lol) It is good to hear how it has improved his confidence, and no doubt also his literacy skills!
Lovely post!
ReplyDeleteI love blogging and Twitter too. When I talk to my family and friends about something a blogger has said I tend to say 'my friend so & so', I feel that close to people I've never actually met. What a strange and brilliant world! :-)
Parcels in the post are brilliant! I got one just yesterday - so THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH - Mr brought it in to me whilst I was lounging in bed moaning about my calf cramp, woe is me, blah de blah .... but all of that was soon forgotten as I went through my goodies though. What a suprise! Thanks for the toy though, thanks for being out and thinking about me. xxx Thank you xxxxx
ReplyDeleteBlogging has changed my life too, I have met some brilliant people. It has given me my faith back in people generally and it has also helped me to restore my confidence ater terrible PND with baby 1. Perhaps above all else it has opened up opportunities, showed me things and made me consider stuff that I would never had done before.
ReplyDeleteSonnys blog is great, I'm so pleased that it has helped him. I think its so funny that you sit opposite each other on your computers. Its a bit like what happens in our house lol!
I decided just this morning to create my own blog - after months and months and months of my husband nagging me to create one. It has already really grabbed me. So much so that since my son going down to bed (about 7ish) I have been on my computer, trying to sort out my own blog, subscribing to other people's (yours included) and trying to work out how the whole thing works. I know how much blogging takes over your life, I've lived through it all with hubby, but do you know what - now I've started, I'm actually looking forward to it!!!
ReplyDeleteAs for sitting opposite each other on your computers, husband and I are sat next to each other on the sofa, something rubbish on the telly, not talking to each other - apart from when I ask him a question about links, rss feeds etc etc etc. Is this how life is going to be from now on...if so, oh well, here goes...
Wow, what a wonderful bunch of comments. I am really pleased that this post brought out the same emotions in you all. There has been so much negativity floating around our little corner of the blogsphere in the last week but a reaction likes this helps to ground you whilst reminding you exactly why you do it.
ReplyDeleteAnd the comments and love for Sonny are fantastic. Thank you all. @JuicyTots, how about Sonny sends your Harry a something to post a guest reviewer just to get him going? Let me know.
Thanks to you all. xx
Hi
ReplyDeleteJust saw your comment, I am sure H would like to do a guest review, what a great idea. Just let me know and I'll get him on the case :)
Oh my! I have tears rolling down my face! Thank you so much for your kind words. You have inspired me to blog. You and your family are beautiful inside and out. You are wonderful! I am likely to have found you and @byyanto. And through both of you, @Soph4Soph. Btw, my son loves Totally Sonny's blog!
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