I meant to post this last month, but the date somehow slipped past me.

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On December 3, 2012, I posted my very first public writing on Cordelia Calls It Quits.  It’s been a whole year already!

How on earth did I get into this blogging thing in the first place, you might ask.

Well, it was sort of an accident.  Cordelia started her blog three years ago, I believe in August 2010 [Cordelia, tell me if I’m wrong].  I didn’t even know she had a blog until she let it slip in conversation one day, and then being a mom, I (of course) wanted to see what my kid was up to.

I was impressed with her writing, and as time went on, I found myself jumping onto her blog with comments on her posts.  I didn’t want to use my own name, so I just started calling myself Cordelia’s Mom.

Then, it seemed, a miracle happened.  Cordelia’s readers began commenting on my comments!  This went to my head, and I began commenting more.  Next thing I knew, her readers were alluding to the fact that I might want to have my own blog someday.

Of course, the first thought that went through my insecure little brain was that Cordelia’s readers were tired of hearing from a silly old lady and just wanted me to go elsewhere.

I’m not sure whether it was Cordelia or I who first actually suggested that I try writing a guest post for her.  As I mention in my About page, I agonized over the decision to jump into the shark-infested waters of the blogging community.

And when I drafted my first guest post on Cordelia’s blog, I just KNEW that it was going to be a failure.  In my mind, it was a fluffy piece of crap that probably had already been written a million times before.  I was surprised that Cordelia even accepted it for her blog– I was sure she just did so because she felt obligated to her mother.

But the resulting comments were GOOD and ENCOURAGING.  And as everyone knows, encouraging bad behavior only makes it continue.

And it did continue.  I continued to write guest posts, and Cordelia continued to actually use them, and her readers continued to praise me.  And finally, I decided to just bite the bullet already and take my chances out in the cold, cruel world ON MY OWN.

Of course, I needed a name for my independent blog.  I never really cared for the way Cordelia abbreviated the name of my guest series (“(the)S.H.I.T” … really?), but I wanted to have some continuity, and I really liked being known as “Cordelia’s Mom” (sort of like being “Mrs. Santa Clause,” right?).

I tried variations of the name:  “Always Cordelia’s Mom”; “Cordelia’s Mom Goes It Alone”; “Cordelia’s Mom Leaves the Nest” [actually that one I kinda liked, but it just didn’t ring that bell for me].  Finally, something or someone whispered in my ear:  “Cordelia’s Mom, Still.”

Well, duh, of course – once a mom, always a mom.  I might be a separate writer just like my daughter, but I am still her mother!

So, here I am a year later, not much worse for the struggle and stress.  Many of Cordelia’s readers are now my readers, I have readers of my own, and some of my new readers have become Cordelia’s readers.  Works out well all around.

Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to say what I should have said last month:

HAPPY THIRD ANNIVERSARY TO CORDELIA

and 

HAPPY FIRST ANNIVERSARY TO CORDELIA’S MOM!

MAY THERE BE MANY, MANY MORE!

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AND A SPECIAL HEY THERE! to Bob T Panda (The Panda Chronicles), Anne Belov (Nothing Overlooked) and Karen J (Curves ‘n Angles):  You have been with me since my comments-only phase on Cordelia’s blog, you picked me up when I stumbled along the way, and you are still beside me. I don’t know whether you are masochists or angels, but without you I probably wouldn’t be writing this now.

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As always, I love to hear from my readers.  You may comment on this post, or email me at:  cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com

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Images by:  jonathanrchang, and maxinepower, and Jenn and Tony Bot, respectively