I got back from a family vacation and was shocked to find that my blog had disappeared! When it was set up a year ago with the help of a friend, we decided to purchase the domain name for a year just to try it out. I totally forgot that I had to renew it and the notification for renewal was sent to a temporary email so I didn’t receive it. Someone quickly bought up my domain name mummywee.com probably to sell it back to me to earn a quick buck.
Initially, when I realised it was all gone, I had a sinking feeling. It was a terrible feeling of vulnerability. A feeling that you had lost something important to you. But then I paused to recollect my thoughts and to reflect.
Then I realised that I should never be attached to things which are of no permanence. This ‘baby’ is gone, but I still have my real babies by my side. It’s strange how just a year ago, I didn’t even have this blog and a year later, it has become such a part of our lives. Sadly though, I didn’t realise how much of my time it has taken up, as I write, edit, add pictures, post, reply to comments, correspond with sponsors, and all these hours add up and it was detracting from me giving my full attention to the kids. So it was a wake-up call to put aside my gadgets and be more present to them, and to be disciplined in working on my blog only when they are all in school or after they have gone to bed.
For a fleeting moment when I thought all my content were permanently deleted, I thought of giving it all up as it will take a lot of work to get it started again. I asked the kids what they thought and they shouted “Continue! We love all the free things and free invites”. Ah huh. Perhaps I should delegate more of the work to them then.
You know, it’s kind of an occupational hazard, this blogging thing. Your life and your kids are your ‘work’ and you are always thinking of capturing pictures for the blog, or thinking of topics to write. So while I took my mind completely off my blog for awhile, I was able to be totally present with Kate (ok, I did pause to snap this picture, and the good thing about blogging is that now I make an effort to take pictures of Kate growing up, which the hubs has been bugging me to do with the older kids). And I will remember to keep my focus on things that matter, and to build my life on a solid foundation of family, love and kindness to others. And that no matter what else I may lose in future, it is all just material, and I will be ready for it. Because with life, there are always ups and downs.
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| Simple happiness |
And you know what the silver lining of a setback is? You get good friends, and now even strangers who have become my readers, who take the trouble to text me words of encouragement to press on because my blog has helped them and their friends. So press on I will 🙂
My new website is mummyweeblog.com and hopefully the readers who have been accessing my old url directly will be able to find this new one.
So my dear friends, on this day where I start anew, let me wish you all a renewed dedication to build your lives on solid foundations which nothing can sway. We can fall and we can fail, but we will always keep swimming.
Linking up with:
~ www.mummyweeblog.com – a blog on parenting 6 kids in Singapore ~
Yay! So glad that you're blogging again! I was so horrified when I saw the FB status update about your blog address being bought by someone else. Scary!
Kate is growing really fast, isn't she? Such a cute photo of her. Hope you enjoyed your trip to Melbourne! 🙂
What a lovely lesson, it's funny isn't it how after something we've worked hard on is gone, and you realise hey actually it wasn't THAT important in the bigger scheme of things. I'm so glad you're back, keep on enjoying this journey and sharing your lessons with all of us. 🙂
Yes, I was stunned when it happened. We had a great family trip and the kids absolutely loved Melbourne. Writing that post up next 🙂
You are so right June. It's so easy to lose our focus on the really important things in life. Thanks for all the encouragement 🙂