It All Began Six Years Ago…

Posted October 22, 2019 by Prairie Wife - 3 comments

It all began six years ago.

I was a SAHM of 4, with an eight-month-old baby.

I had just chatted on the phone with a neighbor who was asking if it was OK for her to give my number to a friend.

It was something that happened often.

Friends asking if they could connect me with another friend in need.

More often than not it was a first-time mom who was struggling with nursing.

I felt proud that my friends thought that I could offer support to another woman in need. To me, it was the ultimate compliment to know that they considered my humourous but honest thoughts about parenting both comforting AND helpful.

One day that same neighbor asked, “Why don’t you start a blog?”

She mentioned that it would be way easier to direct friends to a website for support than to continue to give out my number.

Six years later, here we are.

It’s a bit painful to go back and read some of my first posts, and there are a few I’m tempted to delete because they are so so terrible.

But I won’t.

For better or worse, this blog has become a record of my life.

From battling exhaustion with new babies to working through insecurity and depression.

Celebrating victories, publicly sharing my Preventive Mastectomy journey, and openly sharing my goals and dreams…the last 6 years of my life is stored within this blog.

But, as I look back and think of how this blog has changed and grown along with me I am overwhelmed with pride.

Statistically most blogs only last 100 days…so the fact that we’ve made it 6 years, that’s an achievement!

At the advice of my sister (who used to be a frequent guest blogger), I created a mission statement, a guarantee to our readers.

To offer support to other women (and their families) through humorous, honest and heartfelt blog posts about our experiences. We want to encourage others to lead their lives with grit and grace so they can discover the “Prairie Wife” within.

Truthfully, I credit this mission statement with our success.

Whenever I have doubted if I should write something, I have gone back to this statement and checked myself.

You wouldn’t believe all the posts that sit unpublished and gathering dust becase they don’t fit into our mission.

It’s what I went to when making the decision of whether or not to publicly post pictures of my mastectomy.

I have always said if I have helped one woman feel less alone, if I have created laughter or joy in the life of one person, all the work that has gone into this blog has been worth it.

At this point, I have received 100’s emails and thousands of comments on social media that have shown that I have had a positive impact on others.

As the blog has changed from four posts a week to two.

As LIVE Facebook and Instagram have become an additional way to connect with our readers, I have seen the Prairie Wife brand continue to grow.

And I am proud.

I now have a daily radio show and have begun speaking across the state of Wyoming.

That message of leading a life of grit and grace is slowly but surely continuing to spread.

Even now, six years later, everything I do can be traced back to our mission statement.

I thank you for your support, for your interaction.

Your likes and comments and willingness to share what we are creating with others.

It is because of you that we have been able to continue to grow.

I thank my friends that have been willing to help contribute to this blog through guest posts and all of you that have weathered the emotional ups and downs of blogging.

Thank you last of all to all of my family members that encouraged me (even though they had no idea what this whole blogging thing was) and continue to cheer me on as this blogging path takes me to new and exciting things we never could have dreamed of.

Six years ago if you would have told me that I would have an award-winning radio show that developed from this brand I would have laughed in your face.

If you would have told me that I would be Emceeing at local events and speaking at events in front of over a hundred women I would have told you to dream on.

But you know what, secretly deep inside I would have been thrilled.

There would have been a little voice saying “Is it truly possible?”

The same little voice was the one that said “Why not?” when my neighbor told me to start a blog.

I’m so happy I listened to that voice.

Look where it has lead me!

Now, I want to ask you.

What is your voice saying?

Where could you be in 6 years if you step away from the fear, and take a chance?

Categories: Life As It Happens, Prairie Life

Tags: , blogger, blogging, dreams, fear, speaking, taking chances, writing