What I've Learned from Readers of this Blog

I have now written over 900 blog posts, have had over 1,200,000 visitors to My Own Mind blog, and have kept the blog for nearly eight years. When one blogs as I do, one tends to give the process of blogging a bit of thought. Otherwise I would be unable to continue. I'm weird like that.

Does this blog mean something...anything? Am I a work in progress? Am I full of hot air? Do I have a niche? Are my words still viable? Is there more to say?

Listen, it may be true that I think too much, or that I have a bit too much time on my hands at the moment, hence this blog post. I'm thinking about what I have gotten from keeping this blog and I'm wondering who visits here and why.

For the most part, visitors here seem to be looking for the exact thing that I strive to put out there: real life atheist parenting, a positive world view, maybe a sense of community, and authenticity. I think. Comments from readers that appear both here, on FB, and to me privately nearly always refer to their difficulty in finding relatable information when it comes to raising wonderful children in a world gone mad with religious extremism. I can't say that I have the answers to the religious extremism, but I am definitely optimistic about the ability (and the mission) to raise good, strong, solid, logical-thinking, children with good hearts.

According to blog stats, parents also visit this blog looking for religion-free homeschool connections. I have that too. As a long-time homeschooling parent I have fought the Christian homeschool model and image for almost fifteen years. But that group of people dominates the internet and almost all social media. That is why I felt it so essential to maintain this blog...so that reasonable people could also find a home with homeschooling. Even with my relentless blogging in those days, I'm still an incredibly obscure, back-water blogger who has fewer than 150 followers and less than 400 views a day, and almost no ongoing notoriety. Not that I care about notoriety. But...I don't know. I just know that my blog is a small one.

But I have learned that my small voice has value. Those few people, friends, who do follow my blog have found value in what I offer: support, encouragement, genuineness, and a sincere belief in the human spirit...especially in really determined parents! I've learned that my atheist parenting memes (and others) have been repinned literally millions of times on Pinterest, yet few people are interested in the human connection of a blog for some reason. I've learned that people far far prefer commenting to me privately then here on my blog's comment section. I've made in real life friends from readers of this blog. I've learned that, with a very small bit of encouragement, steadfast and loving parents will make the leap into a rich and rewarding lifestyle of homeschool and/or of raising atheist/humanist/freethinking children. I love being that encouragement.

With my own children growing up (too fast) I have entered a different place in my life. I'm no longer the parent of small kids or teens, but rather college students with busy lives of their own. I'm floundering a bit, I don't mind telling you. I'm not at all certain where I will go or what I will do...but I'll continue to share my thoughts of parenting and/or of atheism and/or of my thought process right here at My Own Mind blog until it no longer makes sense to do so.