Ruth Ayres hosts a weekly celebration at her blog. I appreciate this invitation to reflect on the positives of my week.
It’s fitting that my 400th blog post comes on a Celebration Saturday. 400 isn’t really a traditional number to celebrate, like 100 or 500, but it’s a nice big round number, and there is much to celebrate about blogging, so I am marking the occasion.
I started blogging before I had any kind of community online, before I had any readers besides my mom (thanks, Mom, for always reading my stuff), before I knew what I actually wanted to write about. I started blogging because I wanted to write more regularly and, especially, because I wanted to invite more reflection into my life and work. And I do celebrate that blogging keeps me writing and reflecting.
But what I love most about blogging is the community it connects me to–the Monday What Are You Reading group; the Tuesday slicers; the Wednesday Nonfiction Picture Book reviewers; and of course, the Celebrators. I look forward to reading and commenting on posts by these bloggers every week, and I look forward to interacting with them on my blog. Thanks to the bloggers in my PLN, I always know what book I’m going to read next, I have more ideas for blog posts than I ever have the time to write, and I know where to turn for expert teaching advice.
Here’s to the next 400 posts!
the dirigible plum 
Congratulations!!
Thanks, Mom!
Very worthy of celebration – both your 400th post and all of your blogging communities! I am thrilled to be a member of a few of these 🙂
Blogging communities are certainly something to celebrate!
So I was curious and wondered what you first wrote about. What was your first post on? So I went back as far as your archives took me, November, 2012. What a treasure trove, writing advice from John Green, Vegas haiku and the 17 word synopsis of your NCTE 2012 experiences! I stopped there because I wanted to think awhile about the ideas from those posts. Thank you for continuing to write and share. It is inspiring how you encourage your students and love your sons!
Thanks for taking the time to poke around in the archive! I still like that post on writing advice from John Green’s dad! NCTE 2012 inspired me to join Twitter AND start a regular blogging habit.
I’m certainly happy to have read most of those 400 posts, Julieanne, & they are always enlightening! Congratulations! I celebrate every 100, seems like a wonderful milestone to me. 100 ‘posts’ is a lot of words. At an average of 500 words, that’s 200,000 words, & probably a lot more! It’s a pleasure to be in the groups in which you share.
Wish I could delete those words-argh, Elisabeth! Sorry I didn’t get your name right. Feel free to delete!
That’s ok, Linda! I knew what you meant! Celebrating every 100 seems like a good idea. I so rarely notice when a number like that rolls around. It really is amazing how many words that adds up to be.
Wow 400 posts! That deserves a celebration, a congratulations, a high five and heck, might as well add fireworks! All of the communities you mentioned where what inspired me to blog and keep me writing. Here’s to many more posts!
Thanks, Leigh Anne! The different communities I’m a part of definitely motivate me to keep writing. I would miss those connections if I weren’t active in those communities.
Congratulations! Wow! 400 posts!
Thanks!
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