What My Grandmother Taught Me about Blogging
By Sarah E. White, 2013 NWA LTYM Cast Member

My grandmother never owned a computer. She communicated to us from her home in Iowa via typewriter-typed letters.

She may not have known much about the Internet, having died in 1996. I’ll bet she never had an e-mail address. But I think my grandma would have been a great blogger.

It seemed to me that her life was all about hospitality and service, two really great traits for bloggers to have.

A Welcoming Spirit

We were a big family when we all got together – her three children, their spouses and eight grandchildren – but there was always room for more people to visit, stay for dinner or spend the night. Old friend or new, everyone was welcomed and valued.

So it should be on our blogs. It’s always a good idea to respond to comments, check out people who follow you on Facebook who you don’t already know, make everyone feel welcome and part of the community.

What Can You Teach?

My grandmother spent her professional life as a school secretary and her grandmotherly life as a teacher. She thought it was important for all of us to know how to set the table and iron a shirt, among other things.

(I still know the right place to put silverware because of her: forks on the left, because fork and left have the same number of letters; spoons and knives on the right for the same reason.)

Because I was in 4-H and we often spent time at her house in the summer – prime fair project season – she helped me learn to knit, cross stitch, make preserves and more. She oversaw painting projects, took me to the yarn store and tried and tried to teach me to crochet, her favored yarn craft. (I finally learned on my own a few years ago, but I’m still not very good at it.)

As bloggers, even if our main mission isn’t educational, we should still aim to serve and to teach. Even if all we teach our readers is that they are not alone, that’s huge.

Express Yourself

If my grandma had a blog, I’m sure it would be full of Irish wisdom, classic midwestern recipes, doily patterns and huge spirit. And that may be the greatest lesson of all: be yourself and let your blog be a reflection of who you are.

And, in the words of my favorite Irish blessing, which hung on the wall of her family room:

May those that love us love us,

And those who don’t, may God turn their hearts.

And if he doesn’t turn their hearts,

May he turn their ankles

So we’ll know them by their limp.

Sarah E. White is a craft blogger, wife and mom based in Fayetteville. She writes about knitting for About.com and Craft Gossip.com, and about crafting for and with children, creativity for moms and family life at sarahewhite.com, also known as Our Daily Craft.