Yesterday, the Monkey and I drove up the coast for what was coined an Epic Play Date hosted by Hyundai. It truly was epic.
Initially, when I saw the offering posted on a Facebook group I am a member there was no way I was skipping the conference I already had plans to attend. Unfortunately, after a family tragedy I had no desire to be around people. No desire to schmooze and gather biz cards or flaunt my wares for all to see. There was no part of me that wanted to listen to anyone tell me how to make my blog more successful or brand myself. Crap that’s what I have the Boyfriend for…literally that’s his job, branding.
I digress.
Yesterday morning I woke up to the alarm and was weary. Withsadness and with the desire to escape and so the Epic Play Date seemed perfect. I packed the Monkey in the car – grabbed some Starbucks and hit the 101 Freeway to Santa Barbara. To be honest, I had no idea what was in store. What could possibly be epic about driving to a ranch in the middle of nowhere and hanging out with bloggers that I read daily?
If you haven’t read my post from yesterday the truly epic-ness of the day came from what I experienced with my Monkey. Read the post and then come back.
Monkey started the day with a tasty glass of lemonade in a comfy chair underneath the shade of a lovely tree. Surrounded by nature and with a barn as our base camp, there were smiles every where. Friendly faces and lots of exchanging of stories. No pitches. There was a huge gathering of Moms and Dads sharing in activities like building paper rockets and jousting with balloon swords. As the breeze wrapped itself through the trees I watched my Monkey Man laughing his friggin’ head off and simply being a kid. Every one was just having fun.
There were moments in the day when I started to wonder where I went wrong with my blog. Not that many folks were aware of me anymore. Three years ago I had a bigger on-line presence thanks to my snarky dating posts and my lack of desire to settle for less than awesome. I blamed the Boyfriend and happiness for my slow downturn into the dark blogging abyss – and yet the real problem occurred when I attended my first blogging conference that wasn’t for work purposes. That killed it. Watching folks I respected acting foolish for stuff and not relishing in the bonds that we shared with each other. I mourned by not blogging.
Then today, I experienced well-known bloggers interacting with folks and simply being parents. Sharing love for our kids. Albeit the event was sponsored and people will get paid – but this was the thing I thought was missing – bloggers just being bloggers and having fun with it.
As the day rolled on and the workshops rotated there was then this…
Charlie and Andy from one of my favorite blogs, How to Be a Dad doning foil armor for the Epic Battle group activity. Us parents were challenged to take regular household items and create battle armor out of foil and duct tape so that our kids could battle for the trophy. The relay was hilarious. Whip cream beards for the kiddos and the parents snapping shots and cheering. Epic fun.
The Monkey’s team won. That’s the trophy back there. Serious rock star action.
At the end of the day I got to interact with some bloggers that have been tagged as sorta celebrities in their status on the norm and yet today, they were simply Moms and Dads enjoying a day with their kiddos and teaching us some really wicked cool stuff. Truly I think that is what blogging is all about. Making connections with people and bonding over experiences, whether they are good ones or not so fabulous – life brings people together for a reason.
I’m starting over this week. Taking a deep breath. Moving forward with blogging from me. Holla!
