Back in the Saddle #bloginstead

/ matushkaanna

Well, it’s been quite a while.

When I look back over the photos for the past 10-12 months, I can see that it has been a very full year. Two in college, one in manicure school, three homeschooling, and one tagging along. Our parish is growing. We’re probably moving to another house soon (our landlords are selling this one) and moving adds a layer of chaos to the already busy life.

My shop is focusing increasingly on dolls. I couldn’t post photos of all of them; it would be overwhelming. I’ve enjoyed learning more about dollmaking with each one. It appears that I’m wading back in to making children’s play vestments too. It was quite unlooked for; someone requested a phelonion, then someone else did…

There’s too much to put into one blog post so I won’t try. I’ve been wanting to get back into blogging for some time. I have several discarded drafts lined up that will all be deleted eventually. Part of the problem was getting lazy by posting on instagram. Part of it was feeling isolated and lonely; the blogosphere had shrunk since I started blogging many years ago and my social circle had faded. Part of it was feeling like I had nothing to say that anyone wanted to hear. The list of forbidden topics as a priest’s wife is pretty long and it can feel stifling. Anyway, it just gradually drifted away.

Melinda Johnson, that tireless author, blogger, military wife, organizer of retreats, pillar of Ancient Faith Ministries (need I go on?), has suggested an experiment of sorts for the next few days. She challenged those of us with blogs to post on our blogs and not on social media for three days, visiting each others’ blogs and leaving comments. Essentially moving our social interactions back into a slower, more thoughtful time. It’s easy to post a photo and a hashtag on Instagram, or a status update on Facebook [note: I use FB for purposes other than maintaining or visiting personal profiles], but it takes time to write a blog post. You can’t really blog frenetically, and there are no instant reactions. Everything is slower and more intentional. It’s good to slow down, to make our interactions more intentional, to stop the endless scrolling.

Here’s to a slower three days, and hopefully a quiet rebeginning.

If you’re interested in following along with the other blogs, or joining in, go to Melinda’s Facebook page, Instagram page, or blog post. You can also just look for the hashtags #bloginstead and #3daysinthewilds.

29 thoughts on “Back in the Saddle #bloginstead”

  1. You are so right that one cannot “blog frenetically” – what a beautiful way to put that! Melinda is really doing a beautiful thing here. I have been thinking so much about slowness, and how when things take time it is actually a good thing…
    Even more than slowing us down a little, Melinda is uniting people who may have had contact before, as I seem to remember you from the Orthodox Ravelry group! In any case, your work is beautiful, and the priest dolls remind me of every little boy PK I have ever known following their dads around doing exactly as he does… It makes my heart sing. ❤

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  2. Hey, Matushka! I wasn’t aware that you’re the one that makes those beautiful dolls. A friend of mine bought one for her son and I was struck by the attention to detail. I hadn’t thought about restoring the social circle of the blog-sphere, but I’m looking forward to getting an experience of it over the next few days.

    Cheers!

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    • I really miss it. I literally checked on everyone daily, prayed for them, you make it. The support I was given when I had all of my miscarriages (and the collective rejoicing when I delivered two healthy babies!) was life-giving.

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  4. I love this idea of slowing down and getting back into the intentional slow world of the blog. I started blogging in a new atmosphere 2 years ago at KindlerofJoy after many years of letting SophiaSays on Blogspot just sit still. I started a new adventure that I was super excited about. But it has been hard because people don’t read blogs much anymore. So I thought I had to jump on the IG or FB wagon to share my kindling of joy. It has been fun and way easier!! But has consumed my energy away from my blog.
    So I am excited to try this 3-day adventure and get back into my blog again. We’ll see what it does and where it goes.
    Thank you, Matushka!

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  5. Well, I’m delighted. I have always enjoyed all you have written in whatever medium you’ve chosen to use. I delighted in the dolls, news of your parish mission, weather, books…I’ll keep reading as long as you keep writing.

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  7. I miss your blog posts. I look forward to this. I also miss you on FB. I feel like I don’t see you around and don’t know how your family is doing anymore. It’ll be very nice to see more updates on here. 🙂

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  8. Reading the comments as a response to your post is the most encouraging thing! I love the idea that friends are there waiting to come back to, and it looks like you have friends here waiting! As I’m reading through our group of blogs this morning, I’m finding themes – so far, everyone is expressing relief, savoring the slower more “talkative” world of blogging. It makes me wonder if we can’t keep up this friendly other world, even after the 3 days end.

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  9. It is so funny. I have been listening to Cal Newport’s “Deep Work,” on audio. He is interesting in that he has published 6 books and has never been on social media. Anyhow, his point is that people who have done really meaningful and important work are those who are slower and more focused. I also notice that my anxiety levels increase with social media overuse…I really love blogging and the deeper responses and writing it fosters. Thank you for sharing this! Also, we still have some doll house things (adorable crocheted pieces) that I purchased from your shop years back. They are still looking great.

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  10. So much of what you have written has struck a deep chord in my heart. FB and IG have spoiled my deep thinking. If I can’t say it quickly and in a snippet, why bother. Right? Wrong! Deliberateness and thoughtfulness seem to have disappeared in the larger world and even in my little world. I feel that I have nothing to say that is worth listening to or reading, so why bother. The more I am on social media the more isolated I feel but to leave makes me feel afraid I’ll lose any contact that I perceive I have. The phone never rings anymore. Ya know what I mean? What has happened to us?????

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  11. I’m so glad you’re part of this return to blogging. I love your pictures! But the unspoken rules are so different on social media. Blogging for community building has a nurturing center to it that allows more mercy to seep through, even if we have to exercise discretion. There is so much music built around the rules of classical Western intonation and composition, and so much less when you are expected to oompah on only two or three chords. Blogging feels more like the restriction to a system of intonation rather than the oompah curation of IG and FB. (Twitter is just the toddler on the keyboard, so it doesn’t fit in the analogy.) Hurray for seasons of growth.

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  14. Pingback: #bloginstead: Day 2 morning news – Melinda Johnson, Writing

  15. I’m so glad you are blogging again. I loved your blogs and am sure I will continue to peek in often. I’ve never personally blogged nor had a desire to. But, the last couple of years finds me enjoying and participating in things that I never had an interest in before. Becoming Orthodox was not a change of “religion” – it is a metamorphosis that refuses to be rushed or shortcutted.

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