Got up for yoga class, early early. Almost skipped. Didn't. And it turned out to be a special class for one my favourite instructors -- her last here in Waterloo. I've been going to this studio long enough to remember being in one of her first classes, and have seen her grow in confidence over the years, and it felt like a lucky break to be there to say goodbye.
She wanted to reflect on impermanence. She asked us to focus on something we needed to change, or some change we were struggling to accept, and as we knelt on our mats these words popped into my head: Goodbye, Obscure CanLit Mama.
Wow. I can hardly bear to type them out. But I think I might be on to something. It might be time to say goodbye. I'm not clear what it is I'm saying goodbye to. Is it blogging, wholesale? Is it to the persona? Am I recognizing that this blog has become, in some ways, a heaviness, an obligation rather than a joyful expression?
As I reflect on what this blog has been for me over the nearly five years it's existed, I am so grateful. It's been a place to test out ideas, to meet other "Obscure CanLit Mamas," to record my children's quickly passing stages and my own attempts to manage and frame my role as their mother. It's been a public journal, in many ways. It's allowed me to claim my writing self. I learned how to take photos because of this blog. I've connected with old friends, and new. I've felt, at times, too opaque, at others, too raw. I've written about books that I've loved. It's also been a forum for publicity for The Juliet Stories.
And I guess I don't really know what this blog is for anymore. I still love the writing of the posts. But I've been having panic attacks when I press "publish." I'm worrying far too much about offending readers, about tone, about perception, about being liked (or worse, not liked). The spirit of the enterprise feels off-kilter somehow. I'm worried, also, that blogging may jeopardize future employment opportunities. (Kevin thinks that's a ridiculous fear, but I wonder: would you trust your midwife if she had a blog?)
I am still an Obscure CanLit Mama. But I'm not quite the same Obscure CanLit Mama who pressed "publish" on that first post all those years ago. I have more confidence in my writing. That may be it, pure and simple. I can think of myself as a writer now without feeling like an imposter.
I am a writer.
It is my instinct to continue to write, to blog, to post, to tell, to record, to celebrate, to reach out with words. But what am I offering, and what am I asking for in return? I'm not at all clear, anymore. I should be. It's time to take a break, for now.
Thank you for sharing my practice with me. I'm quite sure, I am, that this isn't goodbye.Labels: blogging, canlit, publicity, publishing, work, writing, yoga