I almost feel a bit gun-shy writing this blog post- it's been so long since I've posted on this forum. Actually, it's been so long that I feel rusty and a bit blurry. Funny how writing something that's suppose to be so organic and symbolic of free flowing thought can seem to be such a daunting task.
I started to fall off the writing wagon six years ago; writing since has been a challenge.
Copyright: bomg / 123RF Stock Photo
Slipping away from blogging was painful. I was a very early blogger- I had quickly fallen in love with the rush of reaching out into the web with nothing more than me, myself and I behind a keyboard: no editor, no collaborator, no researcher. Even though there was never a huge following, every single reader counted; my voice in typed out words had an opportunity to be heard. It was fun and the ideas flowed easily.
So what happened?
In 2012 I won an election and became a Director for our local real estate association
It was a a true honour being elected by my peers to serve them as a Director but the elation soon faded to horror when faced with existing Directors and an Executive Officer who I was now sharing a Board table with. They weren't quite as enthusiastic about my on-line presence. Matter of fact, they were so concerned that one of the first things to get passed upon my arrival was a "social media" policy. Go figure.
28 years as a member and no one had ever told me that life as a Director had strings attached! Can't support the Boards position on something...something like the social media policy? There's only one solution- resign. Whhhaaattt!!. Where the heck is the democracy in that!
So now I had a decision to make- be a Director and give up my evil blogging ways or resign and blog about how misunderstood blogging is by industry related associations. Perhaps I could find a work around? At first I thought that I'd be able to continue blogging about frivolous things- counter tops, staging, what to make for dinner; but I found that it became more and more difficult to write. I would write, read it over 10 times, edit out anything that could be construed as a troublesome idea by the Board or a member, rewrite, edit some more and then after hours of writing and editing, I'd hit delete. Next thing I knew I was President Elect- then President- and then Past President. At that point blogging really had to go by the wayside- social media comments became rare; all of a sudden everything I said could be tied back to my position on the Board.
My term as Past President was actually over on December 31, 2016 but as my blogging fate would have it, the President that followed me resigned at the end of her term and I agreed to stay on as Past President for 2017.
And here we are today- the calendar has flipped into August 2017 and I officially have less than 5 months remaining on my term; it's time for me to get back on the blogging saddle. With the light at the end of the tunnel in clear sight and only a few board meetings left I should be able to think of enough things to write about that won't get me in trouble between now and the finish line.
I've missed the creative freedom of being an avid blogger and now after 6 years of having a front row seat at our Association, I'm going to miss being around the Board table as well. It was a huge honour representing the hard working Realtors® at my Association- I'm ever so grateful for the opportunity to give back to an industry that I truly love and respect.
It sure is great to be back! The time has come to get into the groove with a post a day to keep the brain cramps away! Yep- could take a while to get the juices flowing so my first "call out" goes to "spell check"...hey buddy...I'm back! :)
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