Author: missyistrying

It was one of those nights. Tired kids, a little bad behavior, punishment and tears, a messy kitchen, laundry to fold. The feelings of guilt and frustration and loneliness just sneak right in.

But after crying into my clean laundry, texting my with sister and a surprisingly good night’s sleep, today is a new day. And though my world does sometimes feel so small, it’s a good small. A predictable and comfortable small. So I remind myself of that and lean into the routine and forgiveness and fresh starts.

Thursday is our “slow day”. Just one gymnastic class for the girls and a quick workout for me. Then home for dinner and the usual night time routines of cleaning up and getting ready for school. This, after commuting an hour each way to work and trying to work a full day, can still be exhausting. But I’ll try to remember this quote and try to make my small world as positive and rewarding as I can for the people in it.

I’m your typical Type A, neurotic tiger mom. I’m all about setting goals, making elaborate plans and organizing my life. And the past 18 months of staying home, learning at home, working at home, eating at home and just being at home have taken a toll. So I need a project!

And the project is triathlon training! Why a triathlon? So many reasons, but here’s a few:

• To challenge myself. I love having a goal!
• It’s easier on my body than just training for a running race. More on this as we go along.
• To humbly brag when I complete it. Only kidding a little bit.

So follow me as I try to tri. I’m no athlete and I’m starting from scratch. But I’m determined to see this goal to the end.

My plan is to do the Cypress Sprint Tri on July 24, 2022. See you at the finish line.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
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• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.