Meta-Post

Hello, all!

It's been a while since I really checked in and just spoke without a sort of lecturing feel to my post. I started this blog just over a year ago. At first I really didn't know how the blog would develop and evolve. I'm not entirely sure of the direction it will follow even in the near future.

When I began writing about Life in the Cheerios Garden, my son Jackson had just turned a year old. My plan had been to write something along the lines of a documentary, from conception to childbirth and gradually catching up to the present day. By the time I reached the post-partem discussion, however, I floundered. The things I wanted to discuss were less event-specific and more concept-specific. Eventually I settled into a more pedagogical stance. Last summer and fall seasons were so ripe with things for me to say as I developed a written Parenting Philosophy Toolbox.

One of my goals, it occurred to me, was to share insights that I had as a parent. Some may feel that I couldn't possibly be a valid source for such information when my child wasn't even 2 years old. But as time progresses, the points I enumerated in the PPT are still very much relevant now as they were when my son was a newborn, a new walker, and at every point along the way.

Jackson is now 25 months old. One thing I have not really discussed much is my child in particular. This might seem a bit odd for a "mom blog", don't you think? Perhaps that will change over the course of the next year.

Over the holidays I tried to consider what direction to take the blog, now that the PPT is done. I shared some home-made books, illustrated with the smallest amount of practice and created during Jackson's naptimes. Many blogs include a variety of posting types all under one general concept: some images only, some long rants, some quick commentary or quotes. Part of me believes that I should follow suit, randomizing my entries more and concerning myself less with self-imposed (and lately, scarcely met) deadlines.

I haven't really felt any great epiphanies about what to do next. Part of me believes that I could be reasonably reliable if I were just relating individual stories of experiences in the world of at-home parenting (which is a serious misnomer, as we are seldom truly at home). Part of me feels a sense of guilt in doing so, that I would not be really benefiting anyone by imparting such stories.

For the next while, I imagine I will attempt a hodge podge of ideas as I try to feel out where it is I want to go with the blog. Wherever that path leads, I hope you will follow!

Thank you all for making me feel like my time and effort is valuable. Stay tuned for...whatever may come next!

~Jessica Adams