Back from Break, and Rolling Out a Second Blog

I'm really glad to be back from my blogging break, and wanted to send out a huge thank you to everyone who stopped by with good wishes and kind words about my dad. I'm relieved to be able to say that the surgery went well and, in spite of some complications that made for a stressful week, things are now back to normal. Or at least as normal as things can be when caring for elderly parents! Thanks again to all for your good thoughts! :)

Due to last week's circumstances, I've spent a great deal of time lately in hospitals and medical offices. And one thing I have noticed about hospital waiting rooms is that they give you a great deal of time to sit and think. In order to keep my mind off my concerns about my dad, and to block out the shrill sounds of the Today Show on a television that was turned WAY too loud, I used the time to think about my blogging and writing goals, and assess my progress now that I am more than halfway through my first year of blogging.

Ever since I joined the blogosphere and started reading writing-related blogs, I have read continuously about the importance of building your own platform. I was completely confused about this in the beginning, but I think I finally have it figured out. And to help with my own platform, I have decided to start a second blog.

As anyone who has read my blog knows, I am a huge animal lover and my primary interest for non-fiction writing is to write about animal-related issues. In addition, both of my articles that have been accepted for publication this year have focused on animals. And my volunteer writing is for two animal organizations. After much careful thought in the hospital waiting room, it came to me that my platform should focus on animals. As you can see, there's nothing slow on me. ;)

To that end, I have started a pet blog that I am calling The Pet Parent Diaries. I am still going to continue with this blog, as I am very attached to it and would never want to give it up. And, I want to maintain it to focus on my writing goals, and on any other topic that strikes my fancy.

In addition to my platform building goals, my decision to devote a blog to pet parenting is also related to a personal issue of mine. For most of my life, I wanted to be a mother, and when I finally had to come to terms with the fact that parenting was not in the cards for me, it was a painful pill to swallow. But in the spirit of acceptance and focusing on what is instead of mourning what isn't, I have tried to find some humor in the situation, and realize that it may be for the best. The reason for that is because I am such a worry-wart and so neurotic when it comes to caring for my pets, if I had had a human child I probably would have been a basket case before the kid was out of diapers. And when it came to parenting a teenager, I imagine I would have had to make an open-ended reservation for a padded room.

So this new blog is not only a chance for me to join the wonderful community of pet bloggers and establish a pet-related platform, it is also an opportunity for me to poke a bit of fun at myself and my admitted neurosis, and deal with something that was a significant loss in my life. I love to write with a touch of humor, and I find that a little self-deprecation can actually be therapeutic.

I know that managing two blogs will be a challenge, but I feel like it will be a good one for me, as I enjoy blogging so much and have developed such affection for the wonderful bloggers I have met in the blogosphere. I'm excited about the chance to get to know even more, while also keeping up with the great blog buddies I have already met here.

So I am back with bells on, and very anxious to get caught up with all of the blogs I have missed. I'm also looking forward to participating in this week's blogfests, and will post my first entry tomorrow.

Thanks again to everyone for your well wishes about my dad! And to all the animal lovers out there, please stop by and visit me at my new second home, The Pet Parent Diaries. I know that Nate and Clancy would love to see you there. :)