Just One "Awesome!" a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

I've been asked to teach a class on blogging at a community center in my town. At first I felt excited to share my knowledge... but then I thought, what knowledge? I've been blogging for a long time (about four years), but never consistently, certainly not on the same blog, and never to any commercial or popular success--i.e. I don't run ads, I don't have a "following," and I don't manage or even encourage a comment thread. I know very little about social media and sometimes I even intentionally reject how Facebook or Twitter could compliment what I'm already doing.

One of my colleagues at the University was approached about the blogging class first and she said, "I think Dena Hein is better at that and might be interested." It is always who you know, isn't it? So, that's how the invitation came my way.

For over a week now, I've been fretting about whether or not to accept the opportunity. On one hand, it's a great chance to start doing more with my blog--something I've been wanting to do for awhile. I've thought that maybe this class might motivate me to increase the regularity of my posts and help me narrow my focus on topics. It might light a fire under me to finally let my Facebook friends know that I'm blogging and invite them to read me... There are definitely positive things that could come of accepting the class.

But then there's a negative voice in my head that reminds me that I am an unconvenional blogger--barely even doing this as a hobby. Time is always my enemy. With kids, kids' activities (which means driving to and from), dinner, housekeeping, my job, Eric, laundry... the list goes on. It's no wonder my blog posts are scant.

Besides, I'm not the first person I would think of to ask to teach this class if I were on the committee looking for a teacher. It is true that I'm a writing teacher and in some ways that would be good for this class, but even in that area I feel inferior lately. I'm just not writing as much as I would like to--it's mostly the time issue again. So, when contemplating teaching something new, I ask myself, Shouldn't I go back to work on the TWO projects that are already in motion and that need my time and attention rather than add a new endeavor to an already full plate?

In my current class (those Freshman I have at VU in Core), we're in the education unit and talking about what makes a good teacher. Tomorrow we will get to the theorist that says that good teachers do not "deposit" information into students, but instead, provide opportunities for active learning. And by this action, teachers should not know everything, but merely fascilitate the actions for the students to gain knowledge on their own accord.

If I listen to those ideas and take them to heart, this blogging class could be a chance for me to say, "I'm here to show you what I know about blogging and show you what I've done, but I'm also here merely to support whatever you end up doing. And I'll be a student along with you, hoping to learn new things and become better at all this myself."

But then today... As I was once again fretting over "to do" or "not to do" the blogging class, I found this:

This is a dry erase board in Adrienne's room. "Mommy is Awsume" That's what she wrote. Nevermind that she meant "awesome". It made my day AND gave me an idea. What if I started with those blog ideas RIGHT NOW--more consistent posts, a narrower focus, and an announcement to my Facebook friends? I'm not sure if I'm ready for an announcement AND the jury is definitely still out on whether or not I'm ready to teach a blogging class, BUT I know FOR SURE that I can find something "Awesome" each day.

And so it begins... my quest for ONE "AWESOME!" A DAY begins TODAY.

For sure, my "AWESOME!" for today is the sign that Adrienne created last night for no apparent reason. It's the inspiration for the project AND the thing that truly made me feel AWESOME today.

I'm going to try this for 21 days. Remember how I told Andrew (in a desperate moment grasping for anything to say) that any new habit takes 21 days to take hold and find it's spot in your regular routine? Well, I'm going to try it--blog for 21 days to see how it goes. It will be too late to help me decide about the blogging class, but if things so as planned, I'll have much more to help me decide next time.