Bonny Glen Birthday
This blog will be five years old tomorrow (Wednesday the 20th). Five years, 1928 posts (this one makes 1929), over eleven thousand comments. That last figure does not seem possible but my dashboard is telling me 11,495 comments approved. Which speaks to exactly what has kept me enthusiastically blogging these past five years: you. Thanks, all of you who visit me here, sharing your humor, your insight, your warmth.
A lot has changed since I wrote that first entry.
The children. These days the girls are calling themselves Jane, Rose, and Beanie. Well actually it’s Jane and Rose calling the youngest one Beanie, but she answers to it. And then there’s the baby, whom we affectionately refer to as Wonderboy. Their ages are 9, 6, almost 4, and 13 months…I write. Scott writes. Both of us, here at home, in this messy office with my photocopies of 18th-century Edinburgh all over the wall and his comic-book-hero statues staring at us from atop the shelves.
I miss that office! Now I write sitting on my bed, on this laptop, and the hero statues are in storage. New comics art ornaments Scott’s office walls but that isn’t here at home anymore. And those little girls, oh my. That nine-year-old was in a heavy Jane of Lantern Hill phase and “Jane” was her make-believe name of choice, that month. Beanie’s about to be the nine-year-old now. Wonderboy has become the big brother. How can Rilla be the almost-four-year-old? How can Huck be past a year?
When I began the blog, I thought it would be a time-saver. (I will pause until the laughter dies down.) I was spending lots of time answering email queries back then, questions from all sorts of readers about the Martha and Charlotte books, children’s book recommendations, a whole gamut of topics. Not that I was (or am) so full of answers, but when it comes to books I usually have a thing or two to say. 😉 I had a primitive website on which I was attempting to answer the book questions, and I had begun reading blogs and was impressed by the possibilities. A blog seemed a likely place to post answers to the kinds of questions I was hearing most often.
What you don’t know until you start blogging is that a blog takes on a life of its own. It’s a conversation, not an essay collection. You meet new people; your world expands; you keep encountering new things to be interested in and you can’t help but share the discoveries.
So I won’t claim that it has been in any way a time-saver, but it has certainly been a joy, in so many ways.
One unexpected element of blogging, something I didn’t foresee at the beginning, was what a treasure this record would become to my family. Our stories are chronicled here, not just our major life events but the small moments, the funny ones, the extraordinary ordinary. I’m grateful to this blog for getting me in the habit of writing down these things down. Huzzah for the searchable archive!
But mostly I’m grateful for you. The 11,495 things you’ve said, and the quiet readers among you as well. Thanks for making Bonny Glen a place I love to be.
UPDATED! I got to Melanie’s comment below and let out a whoop—I hadn’t realized our blogs shared a birthday! The Wine-Dark Sea is one of my favorite places on the web: I can always count on reading something smart, thoughtful, and full of insight. In the unscientific labeling system that is my attempt to organize the subscriptions in my feed reader, Melanie started out in “thinkers,” quickly moved to “favorite reads,” and now resides in “pals.” All three descriptions fit to a T. Thanks, Melanie, for the way you consistently exercise my ponder muscle. Happy blog-birthday!
It’s also the actual birthday of my real-life friend Laurie of Seaglass Hearts. Happy day, my dear!
Jennifer says:
Happy Birthday! And think of the lives you’ve changed with this blog! Inspiring people to read and think differently! How wonderful.
On January 19, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Celeste says:
Happy Birthday, Bonny Glen! Thank you, Lissa, for sharing all of those “moments,” those answered emails, and the rest of it with all of us. I’ve learned so much from your posts.
On January 19, 2010 at 6:53 pm
sarah says:
Happy birthday Bonny Glen! Thank you for everything.
On January 19, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Jamie says:
So glad you are still at it!
On January 19, 2010 at 7:37 pm
Hannah says:
Happy Birthday! This may be the blog I’ve read the longest (starting when it was Lilting House, before the two merged). You were part of the inspiration for me to blog and you continue to be an inspiration in many ways.
Very funny about it being a timesaver! Ha!
On January 19, 2010 at 8:02 pm
MelanieB says:
Wait a minute… stop the presses! Today’s my blog’s fifth birthday too!!! I was just sitting down to write a quick post before the kids wake up and got distracted. Happy Birthday to us, happy birthday to us! Oops kids are awake…
On January 20, 2010 at 3:58 am
Tasha says:
Happy Birthday! Your blog is one that I treasure reading. The snippets of life that I get to glimpse are so warm and loving that it can turn my entire day around. So thank you for doing what you do so very well!
On January 20, 2010 at 4:17 am
Sara says:
Happy Birthday! I love visiting the Bonny Glen!
On January 20, 2010 at 4:22 am
Love2learn Mom says:
Happy Blogaversary!!!
On January 20, 2010 at 4:27 am
Margaret in Minnesota says:
Hmm…to gush or not to gush?
I choose gushing!
T’weren’t for nothing that I came home from the library yesterday with a passel of Maud Hart Lovelace books. The links…the laughter…the inspiration…
Thank you, Lissa, for the gift of Bonny Glen! Time-saver or no, it is a treasure.
On January 20, 2010 at 4:29 am
Emily says:
Happy Birthday! I think yours was one of the first blogs I read. I’ve long been inspired by you and your family.
On January 20, 2010 at 4:44 am
coffeemamma says:
I’ve read every single one of your 1929 posts (but I’m not a stalker- honest!). Your posts are either inspirational or thought-provoking (and often both).
Happy blogaversary!
On January 20, 2010 at 5:17 am
Karen Edmisten says:
A bonny birthday, Bonny Glen!
On January 20, 2010 at 5:41 am
Penny in VT says:
Happy Blogiversary Lissa!
Jan 20 is a wonderful day – your blog is 5 and my Ruby is 12…
,,,hmmm… maybe today would be a good day to buy a lottery ticket…seems to be quite a lucky day!
XO to you and yours, and THANKS FOR 5 WONDERFUL YEARS!!!!!
(I’ve read ’em all too, at least twice! lol)
On January 20, 2010 at 6:06 am
Carlie says:
A very happy blogiversary to you! I aspire!
On January 20, 2010 at 6:31 am
Meredith says:
Thank goodness it turned out NOT to be a time saver, but time well spent :)) Many blessings and much love on this momentous blogging birthday occasion!! My life is much richer with the Bonny Glen!!
Who’s bringing the cake???
On January 20, 2010 at 8:19 am
Ellie says:
What I want to know is: how did I discover Bonny Glen? And I can’t remember! Ha! Too long ago, I guess 🙂
I love the blogging world — what did we used to do?!
On January 20, 2010 at 8:28 am
Mary Beth Patnaude says:
Congratulations, Lissa! I have so ENJOYED the journey with you! Although we are a continent apart, I still feel like we live on the same block!
On January 20, 2010 at 11:55 am
Yvonne says:
The first blog post I ever read by you was about Wonderboy signing “I love you” while you were pretending to sleep durinmg his nap time. It made me cry. I love your blog.
On January 20, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Kathy says:
Happy Birthday Bonnie Glen. I know I’ve been reading since you were prenant with Rilla, so it’s been a long time…..:-)
Thans for sharing a little peek into your lives with us.
On January 20, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Sue says:
Congratulations on 5 years! I’ve enjoyed every one of them. I love both the intellectual stimulation I find here and the peek into your family’s life. Thanks for blogging.
On January 20, 2010 at 1:15 pm
MelanieB says:
I’m with Ellie, I wish I remembered how I found Bonny Glen. How did I first get a foothold in the world of homeschooling mommy bloggers? I guess I’ll never know.
On January 20, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Kathleen says:
Congratulations!! I love reading your blog!
On January 20, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Jennifer Gregory Miller says:
Happy blogoversary! Your blog is probably one of the first I ever read on a regular basis. And I still enjoy it! Thanks for the great posts!
On January 21, 2010 at 10:14 am
Emily J says:
Add my good wishes and congratulations! Thanks for all the insights and recommendations – I can always count on finding a good read here!
On January 21, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Helen says:
Happy-Happy Birthday Dear Bonny-Glen!!
Thank you so much for sharing your life here with all of us – our days wouldn’t be this same without visiting you every day on this site – Melissa 🙂
Many good long years to come for you & your GAng 🙂
Hugs –
Helen
PS – Melissa – is this a little finch on your hummingbird feeder I see?
On January 21, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Melissa Wiley says:
Thank you all! You are very kind!
Helen, yes, there was a sweet little finch visiting the hummingbird feeder every day last week. So sweet! Not this week because of the rain (though today there were half a dozen finches huddled in the porch overhang right next to that feeder). I got such a kick out of watching the finch maneuver himself into position for a sip of sugar water. 🙂
On January 21, 2010 at 7:12 pm
Maureen says:
Congrats on your blog birthday, and here’s to many more!
On January 21, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Sherry says:
Oh, Melissa, happy anniversary to Bonny Glen! A blog does take on a life of its own, doesn’t it? And your blog, at least, is a treasure to your family and to your readers.
Thanks for sharing your life and ideas with all of us.
On January 22, 2010 at 5:02 pm