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The first day of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month) is officially begun. This month’s theme is “Relative,” which means daily posts related to one’s family, however the writer defines “family.”

I will say up front that my definition of “family” is a bit broader than many, but more limited than some. Confused? Don’t be. I figure that if I love, care for, and am concerned about, a person, I consider them family in one sense or another.

Also, I’m a perverse person at times, who regularly reads magazines and catalogs from the back to the front. While I know that today’s suggested prompt is “mother,” I intend to save her for last.

Having said all of that, I’m going to begin with surrogate family, before moving on to real, blood-related people.

Many years ago, I was privileged to teach at a small Native American College here in Montana. The first class I taught there, Intro to Sociology 101, was peopled with mostly matriculated students, both Native American and White.

One who sat close to the front was a marvelous character who had an imp of the Irish within and a laugh that carried everyone along for the ride. Lou was bright, inquisitive, and talented. He played guitar in a band to help support his family while he went back to school for a degree.

A couple of months later I found myself sitting at Lou’s dining table for a Thanksgiving dinner. There was always room at the family table for another diner, with/without an invitation. Drop in and you were invited to partake in whatever meal was being served.

That was a marvelous day, filled with laughter and discovery as to who these new friends were, who were making a place for themselves in my heart.

Over the next year, Lou and I discovered some peculiar links between us. The more we talked, the more “deja-vu” things became. We’d both lived in Jackson, WY, at the same time, went to the same places, knew some of the same people, and yet, had never met. We knew the same woman in Detroit who owned a business just outside the boundary of Greektown. I’d been there several times during a period of residency in Rochester.

Those were just two of the oddities. It was as if our lives had been entangled in this family way for so long, while neither knew of the other’s existence.

There are those who posit that people connect with those whose souls have always been close to them over time and in past lives. I cannot refute that any more than I can prove it.

All I can say is that this man is as close to me in some ways as a brother of blood would be, that I hurt if he’s in distress, and that his family is as dear to me as the one into which I was born.

I don’t get to see him often enough. We live hours apart now, but when schedules and weather permits, I go to see this other family of mine. I get to talk with both Lou and his wife, two of their children, and get to know the grandchildren now. And while their trials are their own, as mine belong to me, they will always hold a piece of my heart and thoughts and reside in my prayers each night.

I love you all, Lou, warts and all.

Claudsy

2 Comments on Calling All “Relatives”, last added: 2/2/2012

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The first day of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month) is officially begun. This month’s theme is “Relative,” which means daily posts related to one’s family, however the writer defines “family.”

I will say up front that my definition of “family” is a bit broader than many, but more limited than some. Confused? Don’t be. I figure that if I love, care for, and am concerned about, a person, I consider them family in one sense or another.

Also, I’m a perverse person at times, who regularly reads magazines and catalogs from the back to the front. While I know that today’s suggested prompt is “mother,” I intend to save her for last.

Having said all of that, I’m going to begin with surrogate family, before moving on to real, blood-related people.

Many years ago, I was privileged to teach at a small Native American College here in Montana. The first class I taught there, Intro to Sociology 101, was peopled with mostly matriculated students, both Native American and White.

One who sat close to the front was a marvelous character who had an imp of the Irish within and a laugh that carried everyone along for the ride. Lou was bright, inquisitive, and talented. He played guitar in a band to help support his family while he went back to school for a degree.

A couple of months later I found myself sitting at Lou’s dining table for a Thanksgiving dinner. There was always room at the family table for another diner, with/without an invitation. Drop in and you were invited to partake in whatever meal was being served.

That was a marvelous day, filled with laughter and discovery as to who these new friends were, who were making a place for themselves in my heart.

Over the next year, Lou and I discovered some peculiar links between us. The more we talked, the more “deja-vu” things became. We’d both lived in Jackson, WY, at the same time, went to the same places, knew some of the same people, and yet, had never met. We knew the same woman in Detroit who owned a business just outside the boundary of Greektown. I’d been there several times during a period of residency in Rochester.

Those were just two of the oddities. It was as if our lives had been entangled in this family way for so long, while neither knew of the other’s existence.

There are those who posit that people connect with those whose souls have always been close to them over time and in past lives. I cannot refute that any more than I can prove it.

All I can say is that this man is as close to me in some ways as a brother of blood would be, that I hurt if he’s in distress, and that his family is as dear to me as the one into which I was born.

I don’t get to see him often enough. We live hours apart now, but when schedules and weather permits, I go to see this other family of mine. I get to talk with both Lou and his wife, two of their children, and get to know the grandchildren now. And while their trials are their own, as mine belong to me, they will always hold a piece of my heart and thoughts and reside in my prayers each night.

I love you all, Lou, warts and all.

Claudsy

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Yes, folks, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. There is yet another challenge for the writers who just can’t stand going without one.

I found this particular one when I joined the BlogHer Network a couple of days ago. The challenge is to write a themed blog post each day for the given month, in this case, February.

BTW, this should in no way intimidate or discourage any writer from picking up the gauntlet of that have beaten back many a writer. After all, there are many writers and other bloggers who already post each day. I know, because I used to be one of them.

According to the BlogHer challenge, February’s theme is “Relative,” meaning that each post must have something to do with family in one form or another.

Now, having redefined what constitutes “family” many times across the span of my life, I don’t seriously feel challenged as to topic. I have entire state’s worth of pseudo-family to draw from.

What might concern me, if I allow myself to think about it for more than a nanosecond, is the fact that I have three blogs—not counting an inactive one in the UK—which might, technically, fall under the auspices of this challenge.

Should I be held accountable for only one of my blogs each day, or, do I have to include all of them in the challenge?

That’s a big question and one I have only a few days to answer before beginning the keyboard shuffle.

I’m counting on all of you to help me with this decision. Am I supposed to do all three—that includes Trailing Inspirations on WordPress—or can I muddle through doing only one of them? And if only one, which one—Claudsy’s Calliope on Blogspot, or Claudsy’s Blog on WordPress?

Comments are encouraged, indeed, required on this one, peeps. HELP ME DECIDE!

Claudsy

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Penguin Group (USA) has partnered with the online BlogHer community to create a book club. Sassymonkey Reads blogger/BlogHer contributing editor Karen Ballum will host.

According to Book Business Magazine, the book club will average two titles per month. Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks is the first pick. Participants will enjoy special book club features such as live chats, behind-the-scenes looks at the researching and writing process, and writing tips.

The article has this quote from Penguin Group (USA) president Susan Petersen Kennedy: “The BlogHer community is smart, opinionated, and influential—in other words, the perfect match for our authors and books. I’m looking forward to creating a forum in which women can discuss books, speak with authors, and grow as writers.”

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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I've tried to condense my experience at BlogHer into a manageable read. Really, it was an quite an experience. I'm not sure I'll attend another conference, but if you are a blogger, attending the World's Biggest Conference for Women Bloggers at least once is certainly worthwhile adventure. My BlogHer trip encompassed more than just the convention. We made our trip to Chicago into a mini family vacation and my husband and daughter accompanied me on the trip.

Thursday, Day 1: Our drive to BlogHer went smoothly until we reached the outskirts of Chicago and hit slow traffic. Due to the stand-still, a 15 mile drive into downtown Chicago took 1-1/2 hours. We're still not sure what caused the delay, but later we found out the President Obama arrived at O'Hare sometime that afternoon and the Gold Cup semifinal soccer game was held Soldier Field that evening.

When we arrived at the hotel, the first blogger I met Candice of Mom Most Traveled while waiting to check-in. I recognized her immediately, her blog picture is a very true likeness. Since we were late I decided not to attend SocialLuxe and went to the Mom Central party instead. There I had a nice chat with fellow book lover Florinda from The 3 R's. She wrote a lovely recap about the need for BlogHer organizers to work in topics for book bloggers. I agree.


For supper, my husband, daughter and I ate at PJ CLARKE's and consumed more than our share of the famous "Minnie®" Cheeseburgers. On our way back from the restaurant we noticed lots of activity at the Hyatt across the street. The President attended a fundraiser there and we were impressed by all the officers involved in security and controlling traffic. Later in the evening, I swung by the People's Party, listened to Chris Mann and briefly looked in on the Room 704 party and stumbled upon Problem Solvin' Mom.


Friday, Day 2: While my husband and daughter went to the Field Museum to see the T. Rex, I met a few bloggers at the Newbie Breakfast and then attended the Welcome and speed-dating session. I wish they would have had a few more BlogHer speed-dating sessions, because I met 10 different bloggers in a matter of 10 minutes! During the break I headed down to the Exhibition area and checked out the many, many sponsor booths. To say that the conference was commercialized is an extreme understatement, but without all those sponsors it wouldn't have been nearly as glitzy. Had my photo taken with the Michelin Man. My favorite freebie finds were the kiwi scoop from Zespri and the book light from PBS parents. The lunch, sponsored by Ragu, featured over the top decorations, but the food was very good.


I attended two sessions, Business of You: Brands and Bloggers and Room of Your Own: Blogging Identities and YOU. However, the Community Keynote was most definitely the highlight of the conference. So many heartfelt, amazing stories from real bloggers. After the keynote, I ate supper at the Energizer Suite party, stopped by MomSelect Suite and then headed back to my room to put my dress on for the two evening parties: Type-A-Momfluence (awesome chocolate fountain) and MomPop (equally awesome unicorn cake). The parties allowed me to chit-chat with some other fun bloggers like Sleepy New Mommy.

Saturday, Day 3: Orginally we were planning on attending a family function on Saturday, so I only registered for Friday. That's OK though. We used the free day to visit the Museum of Science and Industry and, to my delight, viewed Harry Potter: The Exhibition. (I'll post about that later this week.)

Staying in downtown Chicago rocked and the Sheraton was very nice, although the bed was a little soft. I'm sure we'll take another family vacation to downtown Chicago again. I want to walk around Chicago's Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue and spend a little more time sight-seeing.

No, I didn't see Tim Gunn or celebrity chef Paula Deen but then again that is not why I registered for the event. I went to meet other bloggers and meet I did. Thanks to BlogHer, I can say that I know other moms all over the U.S! I chatted with them, laughed with them, and now have some wonderful memories.

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I admit being a bit curious about BlogHer09, wondering if I could find some useful information for my blog and for the book blogging community. Not having a track there — as far as I know — I would have probably thrown my lot in with the mommy bloggers. I mean, I’m a mom and I write a blog. Seems like a natural fit.

As it turns out, I would have found myself at sessions where one person in the audience thought writing pay-for-post reviews was wrong. And that would have been scary. Marketing Mommy also notes of that session:

The women in the room were afraid to post negative reviews. Even posting constructive criticism was avoided. They were terrified of pissing off the PR folks and stopping the flow of goodies. And besides, writing a product review or hosting a giveaway was hard work. They deserved to be compensated for their work on behalf of brands. An interesting argument, but if you’re turning yourself into a freelance copywriter, isn’t it a little unfair to your readers to post as just another regular, trustworthy mom? I am an advertising copywriter, but I’d never recommend shampoo to a friend without mentioning I work on the account.

Yikes. See, when I wrote about increased scrutiny for bloggers it wasn’t because I think getting a review copy is wrong, or will even be questioned. It’s because without an awareness of one’s self and blog and community, there can be a slippery slope to commercialization, entitlement, and exploitation. What’s going on in the mommy blog community concerns me, not because it’s a direct correlation but because it’s a warning. I’ve been following Notes from the Trenches for years because I like her writing and her perspective. Her thoughts:

I didn’t come home with bags and bags of swag. Not that I wouldn’t have liked a couple of the things that were being given away. But there was no way that I was going to associate myself with people who had such a feeling of entitlement and complete disregard for other people, not to mention behaving in a completely unprofessional manner. A little tip here… if you want to be treated as a professional, you have to behave like one. I didn’t go there with the intention of getting free stuff. I went to sit in on panels, to maybe learn a few things, to catch up with old friends, to become re-inspired to hone my writing skills and be a better writer.

Let’s reflect on that last part. Here, I’ll make it easy for you:

I went to sit in on panels, to maybe learn a few things, to catch up with old friends, to become re-inspired to hone my writing skills and be a better writer.

Too bad that she isn’t a KidLit/YA blogger, because that is exactly what we’re offering at the KidLitosphere Conference. I’ve gone twice, and each time was amazing. Not because of star power — though finding Eric Kimmel in the audience was pretty cool — but because of building our skills. Not because of swag — though I brought home a few books — but because of inspiration. Not because of parties — though I had a nice time at the bar — but because of connections with the people in our community.

The session are not firm yet, but will include such things as getting to the heart of your blogging mission; building your blog a bit better; writing better book reviews; revealing yourself online; engaging in social media; navigating the nuances of publisher/author/blogger relationships; giving back to the community and literacy causes. The breakfast on Saturday morning and the dinner Saturday night are wonderful opportunities to meet the people you’ve only known online. There will be optional outings for Friday and Sunday, along with the many unscheduled meetings among friends.

You’ll be seeing more about the conference in the coming days and weeks, including the actual registration form. Some of the sessions still need leaders/speakers/panelists, so please contact me if you are interested in taking on one of those roles. You can, however, already book the hotel room for an incredible rate of $109 a night. With the registration fee itself coming in at around $100 — including breakfast and dinner on Saturday — the price for learning, community, collaboration, and friendship can’t be beat.

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Wow, I'm still trying to decompress after the few sensational days at BlogHer09. So many bloggers, so little time to try and do everything I wanted to accomplish. But what an experience! 1300+ bloggers not to mention all the PR/sponsor individuals and a few other curious onlookers that wanted in on the fun. Yes, I attended some fairly interesting sessions, popped in on plenty of parties, grabbed a bit of swag, and walked around feeling slightly overwhelmed by the largeness of it all. I wonder just exactly how much coin was dropped to make it all possible.

(View of Chicago from the road. Yes, we drove there. Doesn't it look like there's a face in the little cloud on the left?)
But I really don't care about most of that. I decided to attend because I wanted to meet other bloggers. And, boy did I get that chance. I had some fun conversations with many bloggers I already knew of including @zrecsmom of http://zrecs.com/ and Average Jane. And I made lots of new connections and friends including Stacey from CreateaBalance.com and the sweet and petite Tara behind When Tara Met Blog. Standing in line for one of the parties I even met a Community Keynote speaker, Danielle (#10), of Knotty Yarn. Her reading of "stuck in the middle with you" had me reaching for the Kleenex not because I was crying but because I was laughing so hard I could barely see through the happy tears. The Community Keynote Lineup was full of wonderful, insightful bloggers sharing some heartbreaking, funny and beautiful moments.


(That was the line on Thursday night to register!)
Anyhow, like I said I'm still decompressing. Promise to post a few more pics and memories later. In the meantime, I'm trying to decide if I could handle a trip to NY next year. Yep, that is where Blogher '10 will be held. You can even register already, if you are so inclined. ツ

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I'm sitting in a room full, I mean - FULL - of bloggers - women who are writers and who either get paid (0r not) for what they, I mean WE do all day!

We're just SECONDS away from the major announcement this year. They're just making us wait a few minutes before letting us know where BlogHer 2010 will take place and everyone here is bracing themselves and praying that it'll be in their hometown.

At my table are a few women from the Denver - based carpool are hoping that it'll be there and I have to admit that it would be a beautiful place for a conference.

OMG! They're making us WAIT....I swear. This is crazy. I'm getting text messages from my Blog Her Carpoolers ' roommate from somewhere in this room, but where is she? Is she broadcasting LIVE as well?

THERE SHE IS!!

I can see her. She's at the next table and it looks like her coffee mug ...

NEW YORK CITY

Hilton New York - near Rockefeller Center - August 5 - 7, 2010

Woo-hoo!

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Prior to my divorce, I was the mom who worked over 50 hours a week, feeling guilty about not being there for my son, missing out on so much as he grew up and changed in the blink of an eye while I built my career, being the breadwinner and putting all of my energy into my job, not realizing that I was neglecting my husband and child at the same time.

We all make sacrifices for our family and there is always a choice to be made. Seeing the other side of it now, the work-at-home mom who wants to provide for her child, who has so much to offer and supply as a nurturing, sympathetic caregiver who wishes she could turn back time.

There’s also another side to that. I also need and crave that female energy, the bond that has brought women together for centuries, which is maybe one of the main reasons why I’m so looking forward to attending my first BlogHer conference.

I have met so many great and inspiring women in this lifetime. I have been lucky enough to have sat with some brilliant individuals, learning so much as they guide me and help me learn from, not only their mistakes, but teach me to learn from my own.

If you’re attending BlogHer in just a few weeks, drop me a line, let me know what you’re most looking forward to (be honest) and what your concerns are. I know a lot of people are worried that it’ll be like high school again. Cliques and popularity contests is not something I would want to experience again, but I also know that the bonds that have been created by women – either online or meeting in person in the past – are hard to break.

I hope to meet many new friends and have a chance to really listen to what everyone has to say. I do my best work that way.

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