Reflections of the A-Z blogging challenge


This morning while watering my window boxes, container pots and garden, my mind was thinking, how to
sum this challenge up.   I tend to only follow this rule of thumb, when planting, all the plants must have a common  theme: light, full sun, semi-sun, semi-shade, or shade.  This container pictured has lettuce, chives,
gerbera daisies, nasturtiums, sweet peas and a bell pepper plant.  They thrive well together, if the soil is rich, with adequate water and sun.  Our blogging challenge was like this.  There were so many different types of blogs, different themes, different religions, different countries, etc.   Together, like a garden we thrived, our theme was to see if we could complete the A-Z blogging challenge. We blogged the alphabet throughout the month of April, a letter everyday, but Sunday.   The gardener who planted this seed is Arlee Bird of Tossing it Out.  I jump into it by following this blog ....and this time, concentrate!.  I can't remember how I found this site. I love that Summer lead me to Bird who dropped the seed and we started sowing our posts.   When one thinks of gardens, you notice bugs.   There are good ones for your garden, this spider is one of these.



B. Miller, a gifted writer, told me this spider in the south, is called the writing spider.  I took this as a great sign and continued onward in the challenge.  I think all bloggers are like spiders, we weave our own webs, trying to attract comments and followers.  We all want our voices to be heard; We enjoy sharing with others and others sharing comments with us.  The spider's web is strong, like a fine, strong thread.  I think of my Q post and how I felt like I was part of this amazing quilt.  We are all different, whether it be shape, size, color, our opinions, but together we stitched a bond, shared an experience, we shared stories, insights and much, much more. We became a family, a crazy quilt of random blogs, bound together with a theme.


Some of us, found our voice, some became better writers, we made new friends, acquired new followers, some discovered new paths that they may want to pursue!

Those that didn't finish the challenge, would agree it was an unique experience!  No guilt, you did your best!
Those of us, that did finish, would agree, together we flourished!

I was attracted to the challenge, wondering how it would be daily, blogging with a theme.  I did at times feel intimidated; I discovered, so many talented writers were part of this group.  I did feel challenged several times, my family would look at me puzzled, when I would mention, tomorrow is I, etc.    I wish I had made, found more time to visit more blogs. I learned how united, people can become, no matter what their background, views, opinions, if they have a theme, a common thread.     I will likely go back to blogging the way I did before, 5x a week, it suited my lifestyle.    I think going outside of your comfort zone helps you grow, pushes you in a different direction and you always learn from it.

I  want to thank all of you that signed up, to follow me, I started with 17 followers, today I have 68..Wow!   I
 want to thank all of you, that took the time to comment.  This gave me feed back and motivation to continue!
Special kudos to those in the challenge, that commented often are, (in no particular order)  Melody, Chris,
B. Miller, Shannon, Ginny, Lady Jane, Linda, Alex, Yvonne, Lisa, Wanda, Wasabi Mommy, Hart, Jen, Raquel, ModernDayDrifter, Debra, Bud, , Grammy, Charmaine, Roland, Rayna, Beth and Arlee.
I also want to thank all the others that joined in and posted; Your comments were so kind and encouraging!  I wish I had real awards to give out and  brownies ;-D

 A special Thank you to Wanda, for my blog award, continue your path, every time I read your post, I
thought, she should have a newspaper column, very motivating and always thought provoking~

Arlee, we need to make you a virtual trophy of some type(Uncle Sam) for bringing us together!  Thank you for all your hard work and reaping what you sow! 

Comments

angelarene said…
I totally agree that the A to Z blogging challenge helped me meet some wonderful people, acquire some wonderful followers and learn to look for a theme to write about each day!
Beth said…
So glad that you joined and that I found you ... even if it wasn't til late in the game. :)
unnamed lad said…
hi Ellie! congratulations on yet another well written post and for completing the challenge! i'm pleased that we've met and will continue on as friends. thank you for your encouagement and support thru out that long haul! although i'm normally super busy for the next several months, my writing will increase a bit in the days ahead, for certain. i'm looking forward to continueing along this writing journey with you:)
Hi Ellie, I wish to congratulate you on completing the challenge also for the comments you left at my blogs, I appreciated very much.
Yes it was an unique experience, one I was proud to be part of and all the new friends I made.
Take care.
Yvonne.
My regret is (not that I didn't participate lol) it is that I found so many of you AFTER your challenge. So I think of all those great A to Z posts I missed! Congrats for finishing! What an accomplishment, and I hope you'll continue posting frequently if not daily.
Unknown said…
hi, i loved your juxtipication ( using that made up word again) love what you have growing there, again using the garden mix and our bloggin mix.
We were indeed a rag-tag team of bloggers, but variety is the spice of life.
Wanda said…
Hi Ellie, I like the creative way you summarized the challenge. It's been pleasure getting to know you and look forward to reading more from you. I have an award for you over at my place.
Linda said…
Planting seeds - love it! And a virtual trophy for Lee - great idea! How can we do that? I have loved reading all of your posts and looking at your fabulous photography. I will follow you and your military wanderings - since we used to do the same thing.
Paul C said…
I am amazed at how the challenge ignited so much good writing. Interesting posts.
Lisa said…
You have a talent for weaving things together and did so with this summary post beautifully! I've enjoyed your posts and learning more about you as we went along. I look forward to more of the same in the future!
I am so happy to have met you. Someone commented on what a community we have made with our little challenge. I will visit often.
Arlee Bird said…
Ellie, what a grand analogy! That was stunning. You did such a great job of posting during the challenge-- I truly enjoyed everything I read. And you certainly made your mark with comments -- your amazing increase in followers attests to that. Congratulations!
I'm so glad that you found the Challenge and I want to thank you for your participation. Be visiting you in cyberspace soon.

Lee
Tossing It Out
Ellie, what a beautiful blog! What a beautiful post. Thanks for coming to my blog, too.
Kathleen
Natasha said…
What an awesome post. But then one expects nothing less from you.
It has been a pleasure meeting you, and I will keep dropping by.
Incidentally, have tagged you in a meme today.
Hart Johnson said…
Oh what a great connection! I am a TERRIBLE gardener--I have NO patience for it, but I think part of my problem is I've always seen it as much more rigid--I love you using the single rule that makes sense of all of them... lighting, and running with it... how liberating...

And I think liberating for the writing, too. There are all these rules, but just stick to what makes sense and don't worry about the rest of it... HEY! I can do that!
Grammy said…
Hi, Ella, I am a little late in getting this comment, (no excuses), so I hope you will check back to read it. I have loved reading your excellent postings and will continue to do so. I like the analogy with the writing spider, too. They are fun to watch. I guess I have seen a lot of them in my lifetime. That is a really good pic of the cotton bole, too.
Thanks for the mention of my blog, too. Best regards to you, my friend. Ruby.
what a great post! I didn't arrive in the blogsphere until after the A-Z had been lanced but I had such fun reading throught other people's posts so it's definitely on my list for next year. Congrats for having finished the challenge!

PS-you've got a little suttin suttin on my blog;)
I enjoyed your alphabet challenge, especially X. You had some interesting topics along the way.
The challenge was great. I really like your observations about how such a diverse group of bloggers can come together with a common goal. I think there's a life lesson there.