Midsummer Break
I’m nearly six months into this blogging thing – who would have thought! It strikes me that it could be a good time to find out what you would like to read and learn about. I’ve never asked - but then again - when I started this, I never knew what ‘this’ really was. It’s just been a space where I could a) share photographs I’ve been taking, and b) write about some of the observations and emotions of an Australian living in Memphis with my family. It’s also been a space where I could write about some of my ‘past’ emotions – perhaps too much information for some - but it’s felt quite liberating and cathartic, and I think it helps others to process their own emotions, past and present (or so I’ve been told). In this briefer post, I’m summarising who ‘you’ are – the people that have been reading my blog, I’m sharing some thoughts on where I’m at with blogging, I’m updating you on where my family is at, I’m providing insight to some recent US experiences, and I question you to think about what you’d like from me in the future regarding this blog – is there something about the US or Australia that you would like to ask? I probably can’t answer it personally, but I’m certainly enjoying researching, learning and sharing my posts, and I hope you might be too. If you’re not, then I’d love to know that too, as this process is one big learning experiment for me…
Firstly, let’s take a look at who ‘you’ are, besides the fact that you’re probably mostly friends!
This photo taken in Australia just before I left for the US, when the tennis crew decided to throw me an ‘American themed’ dress up party for our final session
You are almost 1,500 people that have come to visit! Wow, just from sharing it to my friends on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. I know this number might look small compared to other bloggers, but I’m just happy a few people take the time to actually read what I write, and often comment. How lovely it is to receive feedback too, thank you! You are from ALL OVER THE WORLD! Given, the majority of you are from Australia – 66% of you, but 29% of you are from the US, and there’s also readers from 19 other countries! Most of you have come via Facebook – 70% (thanks friends), with the rest via LinkedIn and direct searches; and most of you read my posts on your mobile – 84%. That’s great data to have – as with a photography blog, there is a big difference between viewing a photograph on a phone compared with a desktop – the subtleties of the photo are lost on a phone, so it reminds me to make sure the photos are still impactful from a smaller device. The most popular post was the first, ‘The Trailing Spouse’ – I guess people are intrigued when someone does something new. The post that took the longest to write and educated me the most was my most recent - ‘Abandoned Part 2’ - where I discussed Jim Crow Laws, Redlining, White Flight and Food Bowls, and their effect on the abandonment I had witnessed in Memphis. I questioned posting it due to its potential conflictual and political nature, and I was concerned that I might not have researched it thoroughly enough, or presented it without bias. Interestingly, it received the least feedback of all my 11 posts to date. I know there were plenty of people that read it, but perhaps it was a bit heavy, or made people uncomfortable, or was inaccurate from their perspective….. it has made me wonder.
When I started the blog, I was hoping to write one post a month about our life here in the US. I haven’t written in this style since University, a long time ago (!), and with 4 demanding children at home, then subsequent home-schooling, I didn’t want to put any pressure on myself in case it was all one big flop. But surprisingly, I’ve wanted to keep writing more regularly, and I’ve found myself generating a post every 2 weeks…..momentum is a wonderful thing. I’m having a slight ‘midsummer break’ right now, as according to my new 2 week rule - which I’m trying to stick to - I’m due to post now. We recently embarked on a 10-day trip around 5 US states, and it was intense – we witnessed a Confederate statue removal, BLM Boulevard in Washington DC, and just missed a fatal shooting in Louisville - which I will post about next, but I’m still processing everything that happened and decided I needed some breathing space to let it all integrate. This is my ‘in-between post’. I’m also continuing on my ‘Abandoned Series’, but my next story on this is based in Clarksdale, home of the Mississippi Blues, which is mostly still closed due to COVID. So there may be some fillers in between.
The removal of the Confederate ‘Stonewall Jackson’ statue. Whether you agree or not, it’s a historic moment to witness!
Family life has been different these past 4 months! It’s been 18 weeks now that our family unit has been together, mostly 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, with no physical school or sport to change things up – much like everyone else in the world. For the first 3 months, it was a fairly strict lockdown to ‘flatten the curve’, and there was no socialising. As things have opened up a bit, we’ve been able to socialise a little, travel a little, and the kids have been back hanging with the neighbourhood gang. Our house is currently - THE house on the block - as we’re the ones with a pool, and I just love that they’re making their own fun and I don’t have to run them around anywhere; one of the pluses of this COVID time. Every night there’s a game of hide and seek in the neighbourhood, and it feels like a scene straight out of the 70s. Their next adventure is creating their own ‘Survivor’ – they’re currently in the back yard writing scripts and have just asked me if they can make a fire for ‘Tribal Council’!
Whilst they might not be learning new skills at basketball training, or practicing for the school performance, they’re learning wonderful life skills like negotiation, creativity, conflict resolution, independence and socialisation – in a completely unstructured environment. There is no pressure as a parent to feel the need to run them around to activities for fear of them ‘missing out’. The pendulum has swung from the crazy existence of non-stop running around for multiple weekly sporting practices and other extra-curricular activities (even more the norm in the US than Australia), to the complete opposite. Sure, I would like the pendulum to hang somewhere in the middle, as having up to 12 kids around the house can get a little chaotic (but I do love it), and whilst the cabin fever induced fighting amongst my own children has definitely escalated, I know this time won’t last forever, so I’m making the most of it while it does.
Which brings me to the re-opening of the country. Clearly, some American States have re-opened up too early, with COVID cases now at their highest levels to date in some places. But I honestly don’t know how I would cope if I was forced to go into another 6 week strict lockdown like they are having to do back home in Melbourne at the moment. At least there is a chance though that COVID can be brought back under control in Australia, and that is worth fighting for, which seems to be the general sentiment of most that I’ve spoken to back home. It’s a runaway train here in the US, and all we can hope for is that people are still sensible enough to social distance and wear masks. But I feel that even that is too much to ask for some. When many issues here seem to be turned into a political statement, including the wearing of masks, what hope do we have when there is no united front to tackle the issues at hand, and division between the people seems to widen? There are many mixed messages about what is best, and I find myself having to put blinkers on to what is happening in the rest of the country and focus on what is being done in my area. The wearing of masks is now compulsory in Tennessee, bars are closing again, already postponed events are being cancelled for 2020, and our school, which IS planning on returning in August (HOORAY) are being extremely careful and considerate to everyone’s needs and wants. I have to remind myself to not get caught up in the media hype, both from the right and the left, and to focus on what is going on around me. Otherwise, I think I would be an anxious ball of mess wondering why we moved to the US!
Finally, I’d love to hear from you! Questions, ideas on future posts, criticism, feedback, anything. This has so far been an immensely enjoyable learning experience for me, and I wish to continue, and only get better.
I’ll leave you with a song that I am calling my ‘anthem song of the US’. It was released in 1981 and is one of the most popular songs in the US as I’ve learnt. It seems to play in every crowded bar at the end of the night, not that I’ve been to that many, especially not this year! I don’t ever remember hearing it in Australia, but I guess I was only 8 when it was released. It didn’t chart highly back home in 1981, but was apparently in the top 5 in 2009 after it was sung on Glee. It’s a bit cheesy I know, but I thought it was uplifting for the times we’re in and has a great message - ‘Don’t Stop Believin!’
Until next time…
As always, you can view my other blog posts and website here: http://www.christinadayphotography.com
And my Instagram photos here: https://www.instagram.com/christinadayphotography/