It’s not actually my birthday; that was in October. I’m surprised you missed it to be honest, I did go on about it a bit. BUT DID YOU KNOW? Like royalty I in fact have two birthdays.
Eight years ago today, with less than a week to go until Christmas, I put into action an idea I’d had for a while.
19th December 2015, I put metaphorical pen to paper and pressed ‘Publish’ on my very first blog post, and lo: Whinge Whinge Wine was born.
I think you’ll agree, that’s a celebration worthier than some ancient Jesus chap’s birthday.
It wasn’t very good, to be honest, that first blog post. The second one was a bit funnier. The next ones weren’t amazing but there was the occasional highlight, like my sadly evergreen MLM rant and the one about my daily routine which still brings a little tear to my eye when I re-read it.
Whether it was blogging gold is highly debateable; it was certainly cathartic though, and over the next few months I kept sharing my insights into the often hellish and regularly hilarious world of raising a baby and a toddler. Somehow – thanks largely to my nosey friends at Babycentre – it gained a bit of traction, which compelled me to keep going even when very few people read anything I wrote.
Blogging was very different back then.
There were things called ‘linkys’ which were basically daft blogging circle jerks where we all read and commented on each other’s stuff. It might have been largely pointless, but it did mean that I quickly made friends in the blogging world who understood what I was doing and supported me as I learned my way about.
I also started a Facebook page, and went from someone who never really used social media to the total addict you see before you today. Eight years later I’ve amassed a not-insanely-viral-but-fair 68,000 people following along on Facebook, a fairly rubbish 13,800 on Instagram (most of whom seem to completely ignore everything I post, which is fair) and 10,400 argumentative misogynists called DaveNumbers on my third Twitter account.
I’ve gone from blogging primarily for my own sanity, to doing it as my full time job – with a very loose definition of the phrase ‘full time’. I’m extremely grateful. Being self employed isn’t easy or always reliable, but it has allowed me to be extremely flexible for my kids and life in general, fitting in work around going the gym and walking the dog. I’ve been given wonderful opportunities and exciting things to review, from weekends away, to fancy meals out, to a whole army of robot vacuum cleaners.
And above all, I’ve loved doing it.
As someone who often finds it hard to stick at things, who picks up and drops new hobbies and obsessions, it’s been my constant. The one thing that I rarely have to force myself to do is chat to you lot.
I may not write as much as I used to – it’s hard when your kids are older, and believe it or not my life isn’t often blog-worthy. But when I do have something to say, whether it’s a serious post about online misogyny, a lighthearted post about politics, a rant about old dudes at the gym, or a wobble with my mental health, I know where I can write it down and find people who will laugh along or go ‘me too‘!
Anyway, I’d say ‘here’s to the next eight years!’ – but who knows what blogs and social media will look like then.
I don’t predict Twitter will be long for this world, the way it’s going – and I might be banned from Facebook for good soon. I promise you that you won’t find me on TikTok, but I’ll always be here, on this little corner of the internet, plugging away and trying to make people smile.
Thank you for being here.
Cheers – and have a bloody lovely Christmas!
If you enjoyed this and you’re feeling generous, you can buy me a cup of tea or a glass of wine – or donate to my houseplant addiction fund – here.
You can also see my Amazon wish list here.