September 7, 2008, the Mr and I logged on to the world wide web. The interwebs. The information super highway.
And even though the baby had started growing on the (Ashli) Brehm about 15 weeks prior, the Mr and I decided to also adventure into the blog world. The idea of having a blog came from a mix of me loving when the ESPN Sports Guy’s wife would guest on his page and my huz would read her words to me about pop culture+life as we would get ready for our work days AND my love for Pink is the New Blog, a website that my co-workers from my first job out of college and I read on the daily. My love for those, paired with me wanting to keep all friends+family in the loop while the little Snowball (what we called The Oldest while in utero because my brother-in-law Chris came up with that moniker and it stuck) was slowly (turns out, very slowly) growing inside me resulted in the hubs and I deciding, “We’re gonna have a blog.”
But a name… what’s in a name? Well, for me, the name was important. I wanted it to be catchy. I wanted it to be witty. I wanted it to be about having a baby because well, that’s what I had on my mind. And one day, on my ride home from work, in September of 2008, it popped in my brain. It popped in my “brehm.” Baby. On. The. Brehm. Because the baby was ON the Brehm. The baby was on our brains. And so. Adam Brehm helped me get set up on Blogger. Babyonthebrehm@blogspot.com. I didn’t have Facebook. Or instagram. I didn’t have a smart phone. I didn’t have an SLR. I had a dinosaur of a laptop. And I didn’t even know where it would go.
And then… it sort of went. Always slowly. Never a quick huge viral situation up in the Brehm biz. Just slow and steady readers. Not slow readers. Gosh. You know what I mean, right?
I started as a mama in my first pregnancy. And now. Geezie Louisey Chicken Cheesy. I pretty much yap about anything I have on my mind. Over the years I’ve published 966 posts to date. I have pictures of my whole life and world all over the internet. And Mr Brehm, well, he soon doesn’t really write on the blog like we first intended (though I’d gladly take his side of the story ANY DAY).
This place. It’s been a home for every emotion I’ve ever had. It’s been a true passion and love of mine. It’s been something I’ve been commited to for the better part of the last 9 years. And I don’t at all ever regret signing on.
But a friend of mine, Lisa, reminded me tonight that I need to say thank you. I try to tell you, you’re awesome. I try to make sure, through social media and this space here, that you are NOT alone. That life is worth living for. That YES, there is hard and YES there is goodness. But I don’t know when I said thank you, last.
Thank you for coming here. Some of you, daily. Some of you, when the title grabs your attention. Some of you, one time. Thank you.
Thank you for telling me when these words give you feeling. Because the words were feelings in me, too, that I get to give a life to on these pages. And it means so much to me that I am also, not alone in my deep thoughts or funny thoughts or moments of insanity or moments of gratitude. Thank you.
Thank you for engaging in the topics that I write about. And for your opinions and experiences and thoughts. That is part of the reason I write. Not because I think I have all the answers. But rather because I have a million questions. So thank you.
Thank you for clicking. Sharing. Commenting. Passing along. Connecting. And so on. To you, using social media or liking something or reading something might not be a big deal. To me, it’s not only validation, but also, a sign to me that if ONE person gets it, then I’ve got a song to sing. Thank you.
Thank you for your wisdom and support through so much of the muck. Through the babies who were so not ready to pop out of the Brehm. Through my venting about my woes as a new mom. Through my tears. My laughter. Through poop explosions (both mine and the boys). Through my boys’ surgeries. Through the tantrums (both mine and the boys). Through loss. Through love. Through all of the life things. And for feeling like a part of my community. Thank you.
Thank you to those who have mentored and helped me grow in knowledge and confidence in this crazy blog world. I know you know who you are. I wouldn’t get paid for some of my words. I wouldn’t know what ads were. I wouldn’t know at all how to navigate social media+blog as a possible career. And I know that I wouldn’t even have a Facebook page if you weren’t around. So thanks. So much. Thank you.
Thank you, friend. Thank you for giving me a little piece of your time and your life. I know you have a lot of things begging your attention. I know you have a million choices for reading material a day. I know you have a million friends on Facebook that you want to interact with. I know you have a lot. So thank you for choosing here. Thank you.
Thank you for those who have shared my words in an effort to help or support someone. Thank you for people like Nebraska Medicine and Her View From Home who believed that my words were bigger than I can ever believe they are. And thank you for making me feel like even one little person from the Midwest can have thoughts that matter and make a difference. We should all get to feel that in our lives. It’s pretty special. So thank you.
And of course thank you for those who have known me all the way through — my family and friends (in particular my family who can’t really escape me even if they wanted to) and Adam — for putting up with all of the stuff that is usually private for so many being oh so very public… and for loving me anyway. I love you all for letting me be exactly who I really am. It’s quite the privilege. And I can’t say enough how much it means to me to get to call something I love, something that I feel like I have true ownership in, something that fills me up — it means so much more than any words I could ever attempt to use to explain that I get to call this mine. So thank you.
I’m currently getting to live so many dreams. Some I didn’t even know I had. The radio (1110 KFAB. 10:20 am. Fridays. Shameless plug). The book writing (I just wrote another chapter today). The speaking engagements (yes. Reach out if you are interested. And yes. I am OVER THE EFFIN MOON ABOUT THIS). Ask the Moms, Her View from Home, and my past contribution to It’s Really 10 Months — it’s all just part of this fun, fascinating ride. And it all stemmed from a blog. This blog. Because I kept writing. But REALLY… Because you kept reading.
So truly, just in case I haven’t told you lately (that I love you…), my words would not have a life if you didn’t read them. So THANK YOU. You’re awesome. And I so am glad you’re here.
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And in honor of nearing the nine year anniversary of Baby on the Brehm, you can read the very first post if it floats your boat, right here: Signing on.
