Being ok with being this and not that

A long time ago - years - I was really into scrapbooking.  I was pretty good at it, too.  As I got better I began to seek out like-minded hobbyists and found a message board with lots of talented scrapbookers.  They were SO talented, in fact, that many of them were and are the ladies behind the gorgeous, creative layouts you see in the scrapbooking magazines.

I got good feedback from those amazing ladies, and started to think that I could be one of them.  I submitted a few layouts and didn't get published, and that was just fine.  But the thing that started to happen is that every time I thought of scrapbooking, I couldn't get motivated.  It became less about the delightful records I had been keeping for myself and my family and more about the talent side of it - is THIS a layout that could be published?   Is this too boring?  Is it creative enough? 

Pushing myself to be among the top scrapbookers robbed me of the joy I had previously found just in the act of scrapbooking itself.

The same thing has happened to me with blogging, and I've only begun to recognize it.

As you well know, there is a WORLD of talented bloggers.  Some are witty, some are funny, some are Bible scholars and gifted teachers, some are decorating or hair or makeup gurus who know all of the best ways to do those things.  Most are talented photographers, and their posts are graced with magazine-quality photos.

That's a GOOD thing!

But man, trying to come up with a witty, poignant, interesting, scholarly post with amazing photographs to accompany it?  Is not the reason I blog.  When I reminded myself of that, the weight of the world was taken from my bloggy shoulders.  I want to write good posts.  I want to take beautiful photographs.  I want you all to enjoy reading my blog. 

But more than that?  I want to look back at this and have memories that I will cherish always.  The silly, cute, smart, amazing, horrible and awful things my kids do may not be the stuff of the Top 100 Blogs of All Time, but they're top in my heart, and I intend to blog much more often simply to keep them there.

Here's to less pressure!