E was 8’ish when I started this blog, and he knew about it from day one. I would get excited when I would get a comment and tell him about it, or maybe a funny group blogging effort like the Haiku Smackdowns of Yore. (Anyone remember those?) He went to my first blogging conference with me. He was even there one of the few times I had a negative blogging experience, and came to my defense. Reading my blog has just been a part of his life. As he got older and had his own access to a computer sometimes he would read my blog (mainly when he was bored) but most of the times he didn’t. I’m sure there are times he wishes I didn’t blog about everything in our lives, but I think he’s seen enough of the positive side of it that he understands it. He even gets it as a writer since he’s one himself.
Nikki has heard me talk about my blog, and knows it exists, but she hasn’t ever read it. She’s never really asked about it, but I’ve also never formally introduced her to it. It’s just this thing I sometimes reference and she assumes it’s something like Facebook or Twitter. These things on the internet you can use to communicate with other people. It’s all still a little abstract to her.
Yesterday, however, I asked her if she wanted to read my blog. I explained to her that I used it a bit like a baby book from when I was a kid, but that I also sometimes wrote about running and television. I told her I had a lot of friends who read my blog and some family too so other people read these stories. She became very interested and sat down last night to read the letter I wrote her. While she was reading it her only comment was, “You said swimming was my weakest event!” When I responded, “It is your weakest event…” she moved on. It was weird how nervous I was watching her read it. Would she get my humor? Would she appreciate my sentiment? Would she be mad I was airing our dirty laundry on the internet? When she finally finished, (7-year olds are DAMN SLOW READERS) I asked her what she thought.
“I really liked it. Can you write something like that every day and let me read it every night before bed?”
That’s about the most perfect response I could have asked for from my daughter her first time reading my blog.
And another generation of bloggers (and triathletes!) is born. Yay!!
Aw: That’s super sweet. Definitely the best response ever 🙂
Awww.
Not quite the same thing as a blog, but if you want to help Nikki with her writing skills herself, and also help her with her printing (and eventually cursive!), what about a conversation, or pillow notebook? Have her pick out a pretty spiral, or even a journal, and use it to carry on a written conversation back and forth between the two of you. Once you’ve written a note, apology, letter, or whatever, place it on the pillow of the person you wrote to. And then you wait for them to respond back to you. It’s a way for kids to ask questions that they might not know how to vocalize or want to ask out loud. (And also a sneaky way to get them to practice their writing skills, as I mentioned initially.)
That’s such a sweet answer! Next generation there!