“So, Mommyo, what are you going to do about Caterpickles, now that I’m in middle school?”
Daddyo teaching The Then Five-Year-Old how to use a camera. In other news, I just realized that we’ve been seeking out and taking pictures of public art for a really long time. This batch is at the Dr. Seuss Museum in Springfield, MA. (Photo: Shala Howell)
You may have noticed that posting has been uneven for quite a while now. Years ago when I first started this blog, I was posting daily. Of course, this used to be my only personal writing outlet, so that helped motivation-wise. My daughter was also much younger then and obliging me with daily naps, which helped time-wise.
It was also much easier to come up with blog-friendly, non-privacy-violating content. After all, neither my daughter or her friends were reading on their own. They were also never online, which gave me considerable freedom when it came to posting funny stuff my daughter said. Our family read books by the dozen together, which made Friday book reviews a snap to put together. And my daughter was constantly asking questions, mostly about stuff that I didn’t know but thought sounded pretty interesting. For me the easiest way to remain sane while dealing with the onslaught was to write the answers up for the blog.
Now that The Eleven-Year-Old is in middle school, she’s reading on her own, researching her own questions, and the potential fallout from telling funny stories about her day is much greater.
The Eleven-Year-Old follows Caterpickles, as do some of her friends (hi, y’all!).
All of which tends to make a mother a bit nervous about what she types. The result has been fewer posts. But I’m not really happy with that.
So it’s time to rethink the blog a bit. I think it’s possible to take Caterpickles in a direction that is still interesting and entertaining for us curious types, without any of the elements that make it an increasingly tricky proposition for my ongoing relationship with my daughter.
This is where you come in.
WordPress has this wonderful little polling feature. Assuming I can figure out how to use it, you’ll start seeing a poll at the bottom of every post asking you whether you’d like to see more posts of this type on the blog.
For my part, I’m going to post on all kinds of topics over the next few months.
Vote early and often. And of course, if you have a moment, I would love it if you’d leave a comment letting me know what you’d like to see more of on the blog. Your input will help me figure out where to take Caterpickles next.
Onward! (Photo: Shala Howell)
Thanks for reading Caterpickles.
Related Links:
- Wordless Wednesday: Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Gardens in Springfield, MA (Caterpickles)
- Wordless Wednesday: Huzzah! (Caterpickles)
CATERPICKLES 
5 Responses to ““So, Mommyo, what are you going to do about Caterpickles, now that I’m in middle school?””
I really enjoy your blog! I’m not a big social media person (no Facebook, gasp!), and I honestly don’t think I’m only subscribed to any other blogs. I have no idea how I even found yours! I appreciate when it pops up in my inbox. For as long as you enjoy it, thank you for posting! 🙂
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Cheryl, Thank you so much. This comment made my day. I’m so happy you enjoy reading my blog. 🙂
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[…] Twelve-Year-Old may be getting the answers to her own questions now, but fortunately, her five-year-old self asked me enough questions to last a […]
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[…] loyal readers know, I’ve had to change how I use this blog, now that my daughter and her friends are in middle sch…. What my daughter thinks it’s ok for me to share publicly now that she’s in 7th grade […]
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[…] When my daughter was in elementary school, she was Caterpickles’ most enthusiastic booster. She was constantly coming up with ideas for new posts and field trips, and even signed on as a Junior Photographer for the site at one point. But by middle school, she had grown out of it, and requested that I stop writing about her quite so …. […]
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