Shhhhh: Don’t tell the other bloggers, but I have THE best readers.

According to this year’s reader survey results, the majority of my readers are, as I expected, near my own age: 56% in the 40-54 range and 37% in the 26-39 range, with a sprinkling of readers in the under 25 and over 55 age range. Most are homeschoolers (67%), but many aren’t. About 30% of my readers are adoptive and/or foster parents, but I’m guessing there are a few in the thinking-about-it department, which wasn’t a question I asked this time around.

What I loved most was reading about some of your goals and hopes for this year, and learning what you’d like to see more of here on the blog. These are the things that let me know what you’re really like, far more than statistics or demographics.

One question I asked was to describe my blog in one word or phrase, and y’all were so sweet. The most common answer I received was “real” — plus similar words like authentic and honest. I can’t even tell y’all how happy that makes me. It’s very hard to put myself out there and vulnerable in the big wide internet world, and of course I don’t share everything, but I always want to be real with y’all. More describing words that made me happy were encouraging, relatable, and inspiring. “A warm hug” and “reminder that life chaos is ok” and “tea time with a friend” also made me smile.

What to expect on See Jamie Blog in 2015:

2013 was, frankly, a really crappy year. {Excuse the lack of a more sophisticated word but saying it was “hard” doesn’t quite convey my sentiment.} I felt as though I merely survived it. 2014 was a vast but gradual improvement, and now, finally, I feel like my brain is running on all cylinders and functioning as it should. When my brain is working well, I write more often. I’m aiming for posting twice during the week plus my week-end post.

This blog will never be only about any one thing; what I write about will always reflect whatever is foremost in my life. I’ll continue writing about adoption, and try to tackle some of the trickier topics. This is the diciest subject I write about because it involves so many other people’s lives. I will absolutely be sharing more on adopting a teen, adopting from foster care, and a variety of other adoption-related posts. I always welcome questions (feel free to email) and I’ll do my best to answer those when possible. I’ll just be doing it all with prayerful consideration before I hit “publish.”

I plan to share more about our homeschool this year, how we balance the relaxed feel with getting required things done, as well as curriculum reviews, how I handle our various ages, and things along those lines.

I’ll be writing more about fitness and healthy living, introverts and personality types, strengthening relationships in complicated families like mine, and caring for yourself so that you can care for others. And of course tea, my crazy dogs, good books, and whatever else inspires me. Oh, and DIY projects, because I’m always doing something and it’s fun to share!

A change for email subscribers:

My new once-a-week format for email subscriptions means less to clutter your inbox, but you’ll still keep up with everything here on the blog. That starts this week, so look for that first weekly mailing in your inbox Saturday morning. If you don’t yet subscribe and you’d like to, go ahead! If you wish to unsubscribe later for any reason, it’s one click away. Or if you prefer to get each post individually, the best way to do that is in a feed reader; I recommend bloglovin.

On behalf of bloggers everywhere…

While we’re talking about blogging, I ask two things from you:

1- If you enjoy a post, share links to those posts on Pinterest, facebook, or whatever social media you enjoy. You’d recommend a book you like, right? Then please do the same for blogs you like.

2- When possible, comment. I get it; I don’t comment as often as I used to either, but I’m trying to do better. I miss comments! Comments are an awesome way to encourage the bloggers you like, and to join conversation with them and other readers. I’ll be making a point to respond in my comments section.

Jamie

Wife, mom, J-ma. Introvert who enjoys good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand – unless it’s lost yet again in the microwave. Read more »