Definition

I’ve been thinking about what I want Salty Island Mama to be. 

I began by researching blogs. Research is always my go-to. I love information but there is SO much stuff out there. I don’t recommend reading any of it, really. It all inevitably ends with some sort of recommendation about how to develop a brand and increase readership. I think that’s supposed to be the goal of blogs these days.  I started feeling totally overwhelmed with all of the rules and suggestions and almost just said to hell with the entire thing.

In trying to figure out what I want this blog to be I have actually had more luck with what I don’t want it to become. Typical. Why can’t my brain just work in drive? I always have to do things in reverse for them to make sense. If you’re ever looking for me, make sure to check the longest way around possible. I’m pretty sure that’s where I’ll be!

I don’t want it to be some sort of angsty journal. I tend to get a little too serious sometimes and overthink things too much. I get wordy and say too much. I like to write to deal with my feelings and I am going to try hard not to use this page as my therapeutic dumping ground. I can’t promise that it won’t happen from time to time but I promise to try to regulate myself!

I certainly don’t want it to become some preachy blog that makes people feel like I think I know it all. God knows I most certainly don’t know it all about a damned thing and I’d actually like to keep it that way. As soon as people start thinking you’re an expert on anything is when it’s impossible to get any peace. People are either asking lots of questions or criticizing. I’d like neither, thank you. Plus, preachy people are annoying.

It’s definitely not going to be a platform for some social media fake perfect life. At the risk of violating promise number one, I will try to always keep it real. Sometimes how great things are may make you want to puke and sometimes I may be a little too salty and make you mad. Either way it’s going to be my truth and let’s be honest here, sometimes truth isn’t pretty. There are also times when it is really the most beautiful thing in the world. I’m happy to share both.

That leads me to what Salty Island Mama will be.

I adore my husband and my kids and I love to talk about them. There will most definitely be lots of mama and love stuff here.

I love my island and the life my husband and I have built here. Nantucket has been good to us and continues to amaze me in new ways with every year that passes. I've been on this rock for ten years and consider it my home. I love all of its nuances and contradictions, its compassion and its community. It's a part of who I am so I know it will be reflected here.

My kitchen is my happy place and feeding people I love is what I do, so there will absolutely be copious amounts of food talk. Cooking is my therapy and although I am NO chef by any means, it is something I have learned to do pretty well according to the people who frequent my table.

I’m on the cusp of some changes in my life and when I figure out how to word what I want to say I’ll write about those things, too. 

Teaching is something I love to do and although my outlet for that may be changing soon I am sure I will write about however I choose to focus that energy.

So there you have it, what Salty Island Mama will be and also what I will strive to keep it from becoming. I’m sure it will morph and change over time. I hope so, because that means I'll be learning a lot as I go!