I’ll be honest – when I posted the reader survey a few weeks ago, I wondered if I’d have more than a couple of dozen responses, and I was a little bit afraid of what the responses I did receive would tell me. I know what I think about the blog, but I had no idea if you guys would feel the same way.
Wow. You guys blew me away.
The survey was posted at 6:00 am and the first response was at 6:03. You guys were so complimentary it made me blush, yet you were still willing to tell me what doesn’t work for you. Not all of you were in agreement, of course – I wouldn’t expect you to be! I especially appreciated hearing from those of you whose politics and/or religion are vastly different from mine – the fact that you are here reading gives me hope for the future in what seems to be a terribly fractured world.
A couple of comments had me scratching my head (Is Nathan’s haircut really that bad? – and – I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say about Dr. Park in St. Louis when our only experience is with Dr. Oakes in Birmingham), but others had me nodding along in agreement (I would also love for Sarah Kate to contribute more posts!) I also loved how many blogs you guys listed that you read – many were new to me so I’ve got some new reading material now!
The comments that made me happiest? Many, many of you used the words “honest” and “honesty” to describe my writing, and that means the world to me. I have many, many (MANY!) faults but honesty and compassion are two of my guiding principles, and I’m happy that you perceive me as an honest person (not to go too far down a rabbit hole here, but it was especially good to hear during a month when I’ve been repeatedly hassled by someone who refuses to believe me when I told the truth about something).
I discovered a lot of you are like me, but a lot of you aren’t.
The number of readers in each age bracket was significant, with the highest percentage (though nowhere near a majority) in the 35-44 age range (random factoid: I moved from the 35-44 bracket to the 45-54 bracket while the survey was live). The vast majority of you are female, although there are a few men out there (Hello!), and you much prefer Facebook to other forms of social media, with Instagram a distant second (Yay! I can quit worrying about what a terrible tweeter I am!)
A few of you have your own blog, but most of you don’t. Just over three quarters of you are Christian – a little over a third Catholic, one Orthodox (Hello!) and the rest Protestant. A big chunk of you have no religious affiliation, and a few of you are Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, or atheist (Welcome!)
One question I really wanted answered was how you are connected to Disability World, and the answers were all over the place. You are teachers, therapists, and other professionals. You are family members of people with disabilities – as many of you listed “other disability” family member as listed Down syndrome or cerebral palsy family member combined. Several of you checked multiple boxes! Many of you have disabilities yourselves and I am SO glad that you are reading, although I will admit I feel pressure to “get it right” now that I know there are a lot of you out there. 🙂
What topics are your most and least favorite?
Well, we’re in agreement there. The posts about Sarah Kate and Nathan top the list, which is to be expected. She has the edge, which I suspect has more to do with timing than anything – 2014 was a big year for her! We are in talks about whether and how often she might want to post here for those of you (and there were many!) who want to hear more from her.
On the other end of the spectrum, I hate the Sun-Beams just as much as most of you do! Hate is probably too strong a word, but it’s definitely my least favorite type of post and the one I dread writing the most, even though I spend the least amount of time on them. Effective immediately, the weekly Sun-Beams are going away. However, there are enough of you that like them that I won’t discontinue them completely. What I will do is post them less often – roughly once per month, in a different format – and I’ll be more intentional about the stories I choose.
Seven Snippets is a distant second for least-liked type of post, but the number of you who responded that it was one of your favorites was more than double (in raw numbers) those who said they don’t like it. So… since it’s my blog, I’m going to keep them around. 😉 So many of you chose not to even pick three “least favorites” which is so sweet of you because I know I miss the mark a LOT – I seriously love you guys!
Now that the year from hell 2014 is over, I want to get back to doing more of what I love – photographing our ordinary family living an extraordinary life. I haven’t picked up my camera as much as I’d like these past several months, and based on the survey responses, you’d like for me to get back to that, too. I don’t know exactly what the future will hold for us, but with Nathan starting kindergarten and Sarah Kate starting middle school in 2015, I know it’ll be an adventure.
Yes, his haircut really is that bad…
I think his haircut is adorable on him!
I’m not sure why you care so much about a 4 year old’s hair??? His hair looks cute. Maybe you need to “let it go” and move on.
Okay, Linda – I’ll bite. This is the second time you’ve commented on Nathan’s hair (third if you were the one who commented on it in the survey), so clearly it bugs you. I get it. You don’t like his hair.
I do want to throw it back to you, however. What would you recommend instead? Any suggestions should take into consideration the following: (1) Nathan’s hair is very, very, VERY straight and fine in texture, but there is a lot of it; (2) He has very “generous” cheeks and a round face that I don’t want to accentuate; and (3) He’s FOUR and therefore neither willing nor capable of “styling” his hair – a halfway decent brushing is the best he can manage.
Fire away.
I didn’t do the survey, so the additional comments about his hair weren’t mine! It’s the bangs…..they are too long, heavy and blunt(bowl) cut. I would suggest shortening up the bangs and having the stylist texturize and thin them out. I too have very fine hair, but lots of it, so I know what you’re dealing with! I promise I won’t comment again about his hair! I’m sure getting him to sit still for a haircut is not easy either!
You’re right – having him sit still is very difficult, but he has had the same two stylists for four years and they are very patient with him. The length is sometimes too long and sometimes too short – depends on whether his hair has just been cut or needs cutting – it grows fast, like mine. I never choose to get my own hair cut (even when it was pixie-style length) more than every four weeks, so I’m not doing it for a four year old, either. Also, his hair is layered all the way around, from to front to back. If you could see it in person, rather than judging from a photograph, you would be able to see the texture in the layers. And perhaps you do have a lot of fine hair – obviously I don’t know because you haven’t used a gravatar with a photo of herself so that I can see you. I’m going to assume, however, that you are not a four year old boy, which means you have a lot more options than we do.
I think your son is adorable. Whatever hairstyle makes you two happy is perfect. Hair and little boys is a constant challenge.
I’m sad that I missed that you did this survey, I would have loved to have taken part.
Nathan’s haircut is adorable and fits his personality! He truly is a beautiful child! So is SK!
Nathan’s hair is perfect! It certainly goes with the mischievous look that little boys walks around with on his face! It is the typical little boy haircut and my son would have kept the same cut, except he got involved in too many sports that required helmets…crew cuts were easier for a number of reasons!
Thanks for the transparency! Love the blog, love the kids, I never comment since I’m always reading on my phone but wanted to drop a line and say thanks and kudos to you. My little boy with CP is just over a year old so learning about (and hearing from!) Sarah Kate is my favorite 🙂
Welcome!
I think Nathan’s hair is fine. I’m not sure what Linda would like for you to do differently? A perm perhaps. I hear they are coming back.
Nathan’s haircut suits him just fine. I gave my son a “big boy” hair cut at about that age and regretted it, but there was no going back.
I absolutely love his hair and think that he is so handsome and cute! I don’t even know why you are giving Linda (if that’s even her real name) the time of day. I actually like that his hair is a little long and not super short, spiked and gelled! He is a 4 year old little boy for heaven’s sake. Don’t even bother to ask anyone else about his hair, he’s gorgeous! If his hair was blue, orange or purple, short or long it wouldn’t change the way YOU and the rest of his family feel about him and that’s the most important thing.