Category Archives: Blog

Spring is here.

Okay, not quite. But I’m ready for it anyway.

And with it comes a fresh format.

The old, dark, treehouse background was growing mildew; I’ve been getting tired of looking at it, to be honest. That, and the family is transitioning. The girls are teenagers (Lord help me) and aren’t as involved in the daily antics of home life, opting instead to spend time text messaging, hiding in their rooms or hanging out with friends.

Sister B is almost 18. Sister S will be 17 at the end of the year, and sister L will be 15 on her next birthday, which is rapidly approaching.

Michael, of course, is sprinting toward age 7, and we’re anticipating all of the joys and sorrows, tribulations and victories that comprise that particular stage of life.

The scene shown in the comparatively minuscule header above depicts a common occurrence: Daddy chauffeuring Michael to some destination (e.g. school, swimming, errands) while Michael fills the airspace with his inimitable, inscrutable and fundamentally unrelenting palaver.

It’s different. It’s a contrast change. But mostly, the header is smaller so you don’t have to scroll down as far to get to the post. You’re welcome.

I was inspired by my blogging buddy Otter Thomas over at Life of a New Dad to write about blogging.

There are a gazillion articles out there on how to increase your blog traffic, and they all say pretty much the same thing: write consistently, create informative and engaging content, visit other blogs and leave lots of comments, submit your blog to all the social media sites, etc. All good advice.

It also helps if you’ve been blogging for a while and have gained some respect in the blogging community, maintaining a fairly high number of blog buddies and perhaps contributing to sites other than your own.

This month it will be four years since I started chronicling the escapades of my son and his sisters, and my traffic usually hovers just under 30 readers a day, with nine or ten comments per post tops. Not exactly stellar numbers. In terms of traffic, my site is on a back street somewhere in Bluewater, New Mexico just off of old Route 66. When I started I had this idea that when I hit the “post” button for the very first time, the next day I’d be overwhelmed with readers busting down the virtual gates clamoring for more, and that all I’d have to do would be to stick up a few ads and the checks would start rolling in. Fame and fortune in no time! Yeah.

Those who cling to every word I’ve committed to cyberspace might recall that I have whined about this before. And in the cyber-universe, whining is not allowed.

So none of that.

Instead, I wish to announce that I have achieved peace with my stature. I have finally realized that the traffic that my blog produces is entirely appropriate for the type of blog I produce.

Let’s take it point by point:

Great Content
My site’s content is what it is. It isn’t about garnering wealth, political punditry, great parenting advice, giveaways, lists or sweeping social change. My blog is about Michael, and the goofy things he does. Actually, the blog is about how his dad (that would be me) responds to the goofy things he and his sisters do, and how his very level-headed mom gently and patiently helps keep dad from steering off into the weeds.

Is this useful, informative content? Probably not. But in terms of chronicling our adventures as a family and my personal experience as a father and husband, it’s spot on. Since this is in many ways a family scrap book, my intent must be to capture slices of life for posterity. The content meets that goal.

Consistent Writing
I go through stretches of time where I have so much to write about I can’t possibly get it all down in print in just a week or two. And there are completely dry stretches as well, when nothing much happens. And there are times, like pretty much the entire latter half of 2009, when one thing or another so thoroughly knocked me off my literary pins that it became all I could do to drag my butt to the keyboard and bang out anything at all. I tried writing a blog post a day, and I’ve tried letting several weeks lapse between posts. Doesn’t seem to make too much difference. But again, I’m not compelled to write about things that don’t happen – nor am I compelled to write about things that aren’t for public discourse.

Lots of Comments
I love leaving comments on my friend’s sites. But lately I’ve had some trouble doing that while I’m at work, which is (oddly enough) when I actually have a minute or two to read. But the internet security our company provides just plain old won’t let me put up comments on some sites.

Time is limited, too. I’m not sure how you do it, but some of you out there have the time and talent to visit scores of sites and leave intelligent and clever comments on all of them. When I’m at home, I’m lucky if I can get enough time to answer two emails, let alone thoroughly read a blog post and then provide a cogent comment. I’m hopeful that over time that will change, as situations and schedules usually do.

Social Media
Meh. I’ve submitted my site to at least twenty different blog promotion sites and gotten zip out of them. My traffic comes from Twitter, Google and direct visits (this is fun: Google “jackanape gentlemen fisticuffs” and see what I mean), and that’s pretty much it. So I wouldn’t say Reddit or Technorati or Stumble are tremendously effective tools for sites such as mine.

The fact is, I’m happy for the people that visit my site. I know them and put a high value on their comments. While I welcome all comments from any actual valid reader (as opposed to, for example, the “readers” whose comments consist of phrases like “I disagree with your point” or “I heard this on the news” on a post about Michael waking us up too early because of a bad dream he had), I will not be attempting to craft my site into something that will attract more readers just for the sake of it.

My peeps are visiting me with every new post, and I get comments from them.

All that to say, I’m okay with the way things are.

So maybe I don’t have high traffic.

But I do have quality traffic.

When I found out that Compassion International had a group of bloggers in Kenya this week, I had to come out of hiding briefly to let you all know – and to put up a link on the right here for you all to check it out yourself.

Our family sponsors a child in Kenya, one whom we consider a part of our family, whom we pray for every day.

I encourage each of you to read their stories and consider sponsoring a child. A truly small amount from us makes all the difference in their life.

Faithful readers, I want to let you know we will be taking a short break here at Being Michael’s Daddy.

But do not fear, for we shall be back in time, with plenty of musings, nattering, grumbles and witty repartee. And maybe even a few things that you’ll enjoy reading.

In the mean time, if you haven’t yet, please peruse the links I’ve placed to the left here. There are very good writers here and they always keep me entertained.

Seems that Weaselmomma, over at her outstanding site World of Weasels, tagged me for a meme.

The way this one works is that you have to go to the first picture folder on your computer, find the tenth picture, post it, and write the story behind it. Then you tag a few others to do the same thing.

Well… the first picture folder on my computer had only eight pictures in it, so I used my advanced math skills and proceeded to the second picture in the second folder. I figure that’s a fair interpretation of the rules.

This picture is of our blog’s namesake when he was only a few weeks old, getting a bath in the kitchen sink. Ah, those were the days. Back then, he stayed right where you put him; he didn’t pepper us 24/7 with inexplicable questions, he never stalked the cat, he was unanimously and unfailingly loved by his sisters, and he ate what we gave him (or rather, drank).

Here, his mom is giving him his bath, one of her favorite things to do. She loved to stroke his downy red hair and gently wipe his chubby little arms and legs. He always enjoyed the warm water, emitting soft sighs of delight when the water ran over his head or tummy. That bottle of Johnson’s Baby Wash stayed right there by the sink for years afterwards, long after he’d started walking and talking and demanding to watch Blue’s Clues. I think maybe his mom was hoping she’d have another shot at him being a baby once in a while. I have that wish myself, from time to time.

That blue bathtub he’s in was a gift from a stranger. One day, around the time when Michael was born, I helped a stranded motorist by pushing her vehicle off the street and giving her a ride home. In her gratitude she gave me a brand new baby bathtub, still in the box.

How could I turn that down? We needed one, because we were fresh out of baby supplies. After all, when we married, we each assumed there wouldn’t be any more babies. I had two girls, she had one. That was plenty.

Then, along came Michael. Totally by surprise. With red hair, and blue eyes; born to a couple of brown-haired, brown-eyed parents. We had to laugh at God’s sense of humor, blessing us with the revelation of a new addition to our family only weeks after we’d sold off in a garage sale the very last of the our collected set of old baby necessities, such as the baby bathtub that I’d been packing around for years despite a distinct lack of babies in my life.

And here he is. The star of the show now, someone we hadn’t planned for, someone we weren’t prepared for. Even today we’re finding out just how unprepared we are for him, which is the biggest reason why I write here, this sanctorum of musings about life as a second-time-around father, and of personal rants about my own stubbornness and lack of patience. If nothing else, this adventure has shown me that even at my age, there’s still a lot to learn about being a dad. There’s still a lot of growing I have to do.

Now then: I tag the following folks to continue the chain:

Antique Mommy – photographer and writer extraordinaire

Chuck at D is for Dad – someone who no doubt has a lot of worthy photos

Otter Thomas at Life of a New Dad – who reminds me of me, from a few years back.

And have a very Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!