I’m writing this on the cusp of blogging for almost two weeks straight. I can’t explain the rhythms of my blog. Sometimes I feel like writing and sometimes I don’t. I went through an awful stretch in August where I just didn’t make the time or effort to put my thoughts into words. This latest burst of posts seems to be in response to getting out of the dog days of summer.

The purpose of this blog is two-fold. First, I want to become a better writer and practice makes perfect. Second, I want to leave more digital breadcrumbs of my life. I come from a family whose matriarchs have a wonderful habit of doing a daily diary. My mom continues to do so, with the practical benefit of solving arguments about when things happened. Another benefit, at least to me, is the continuity involved and the unfiltered nature that comes with daily discipline. Quick, mom – when did I lose my first tooth? When did I first ride a bike without training wheels? When did I break my first bone? When did Fluffy die? So a large part of this blog is simply documenting the sometimes mundane, sometimes spectacular details of life.

I live in the fear of blogger burnout. I read this article in the NY Times yesterday and it reminded me of that fear. The average lifespan of blogs is two years. OK, I made that up. No one really knows, but in the world of “competitive” blogs, back in 2006 the average life was 33 months. All I know is that most blogs I’ve followed over the years go dark after about two years. One of my favorite blogs, drivenachodrive, has gone silent now that their journey across the world is now over. They’ve settled in Seattle (according to their Facebook page) and who knows what will happen now that they will be back to the rhythms of a more normal life.

I’m hoping that this blog will continue to of value to me and whoever reads this. The main reasons tacostanley is a public blog is that it forces me to write better, to think about an external audience, and to not be lazy on how often I write. I have no desire to build an audience outside of my family and close friends. I’ll never sell advertising. I’ll never put in a promotional link. And I’ll never attend a blogger conference. But will I burn out? Only time will tell.