How To Embrace The 7 Year Itch

Seven years ago to the day, I started this little website called frazzledad.com, with a little post called “My First Steps”. And here we are, seven years later, and that little website has become a slightly less little website. Congratulations, me! We’ve come so far! But, going forward, I need to scratch that 7 year itch.

When I started writing this, I really had no idea what I wanted to do with it. Writing about being a Dad was intriguing to me. I had looked at several “Dad blogs”, even subscribed to a few just to get a feel for them. Everything from Dad and Buried to The Good-Bad Dad. But nothing about them captured my attention, or my imagination. It just wasn’t me. They all just seemed so, “dad blogish…” And so many others were just Dads trying to be cool. Hell, I’m already cool!

So I decided to just write for me. I wasn’t going to worry so much about getting other people to read my stuff. My blog had no real direction. If anything, I thought my little missives would make for a decent legacy; a memory for my kids after I’m gone. You know, to Costa Rica!

The 7 Year Itch Takes Hold

For the first six years I wrote fairly inconsistently. I kept to no schedule and never worried too much about traffic, SEO (search engine optimization) or how many backlinks I had. I just wrote, whatever and whenever I felt like. It was a bit like having the freedom to write without worrying about anyone actually seeing it.

But, here I am seven years on, and my needs and wants have changed. I’m experiencing the 7 year itch! My vanity has taken hold. I actually want people to read my stuff! Way back in 2016 my first words were, “I decided the world needed to hear from me, as I have many important things to say.” I just didn’t take myself too seriously back then. So much has changed. I still don’t take myself too seriously, but now I want everyone to know it!

The Lonely Life Of A Writer

Writing is a lonely, solitary activity. There’s book clubs, and sewing circles, and wine tasting groups, but how many writing clubs are there? Okay, there’s probably several thousand, but it’s not like they’re getting together on a Tuesday night and writing. I don’t think? Unless it’s combined with a wine tasting group. I’d be into that. Though I doubt I’d get much writing done…

Here I am, not even 400 words in and I’m rambling like a drunken writer at a wine tasting. What I’m trying to say really badly is that I love writing. I love the way my brain works when I write. It doesn’t matter if I’m typing on a laptop or using good old paper and pen. Writing makes me happy. I don’t actually feel lonely when I’m writing, so that last paragraph is really just a bunch of nonsense! I feel connected and present.

So I’m going to keep on writing on this little website I’ve created. After all, seven years really isn’t very long. I’ve been posting something once a week since last September, when I decided to get consistent. Once a week seems pretty doable right now, but I may consider upping that to 2 posts a week in the coming months! That 7 year itch I mentioned in the title? I’ve decided I’ll just scratch it a little more often. My focus will still be on our lives as an active, chaotic household filled with interesting teenagers and students (who are also teenagers!).

Where To Next?

Of course things will change. Zach’s getting ready to head across the country to university, and Beth-Rose is probably not far behind. (Yikes!) So things will be different in our chaotic household. It might not be quite so chaotic. But I will keep writing. And I hope people will keep reading.

Me and Zachary. Where it all started. The Dad stuff.