On Thursdays I like to feature interesting people and today’s featured “mom who blogs” Nadine Rose Larter (Passing The Open Windows) is nothing if not interesting. She is a homeschooling mom and awesome author (featured her first book a while ago HERE) with such an unique look at life that I actually look forward to her fb statuses. She really is such a special soul and has agreed to have us pry into her life a little…
-Tell us a little about your family…
Well, we’re a family of five. I have one son and my husband has a son and a daughter. We all live together in one messy chaotic and often infuriating house.
-What do you do when not blogging?
Goodness. I think I’m mostly “not blogging”. I home school the three kids so I’m usually moaning at them to do their work. Otherwise I do a small bit of freelance writing and I try to work on a lot of fiction writing as well.
-What made you decide to blog?
I started blogging in 2009. I just wanted to write stuff. I started by blogging the first couple of chapters of my book, Coffee at Little Angels, and then kind of just meandered into blogging about whatever I felt like relatively quickly.
-What was your concept behind the blog?
Well back then it was supposed to be blog about me writing my novel. Now there isn’t much of a concept. It’s just another way to procrastinate instead of working on actual novels.
– Where does blog name come from?
It’s a John Irving reference from my favourite book, The Hotel New Hampshire. It basically means don’t commit suicide.
-Did you find yourself nervous at prospect of letting people into your life in this way?
No. I don’t. I’m not sure why I don’t. I suppose most people would. I like an open and honest dialogue though. I like being able to say what is on my mind. I like asking questions and discussing answers. Every now and then I get a nasty response but it’s not enough to shut me up.
-Do you ever worry that your child will be like “mom why are you exposing my life?” (I worry sometimes)?
Again, no. I don’t write much about my life as a parent or stepparent to be honest. I think if I had to delve in to that more then maybe I would start to worry. I write mostly about myself and what I’m thinking. A little narcissistic I guess. But that is my right. I hope my child will grow up to respect that. I hope he will grow up appreciating that I am a person too. Not just a mom.
-Does your family read your blog?
I think they do sometimes, but not always.
-What do you hope to achieve through the blog?
A little bit of sanity perhaps. Maybe some clarity. Sometimes I don’t always know how I feel about something until I write about it. So that helps. Putting yourself out there and being honest (and vulnerable) can be a great thing. I like to think that it might somehow help when it comes to finding like-minded people to spend more time with.
-What do you think about the blogging culture in South Africa?
I honestly have no opinion. Ok maybe I do have an opinion: I think that we have a lot to talk about and I think we could do it in a civilised way but instead we all act like idiots. Sure, there are a ton of mom blogs out there and they’re all cute and sweet and everyone’s offering a pat on the head and some gentle encouragement – great. But I sometimes wish we could be more real about stuff. I have yet to come across anything that made me feel like it might be bordering on progressive. I like to think something like that exists and that I just haven’t found it yet.
-What do you think makes for a “good blog”
I think writing what you want to write and being honest about it goes a long way in any world. I’m the wrong person to ask though. I’m not exactly trendy or with it!
-How do you personally measure success in the blogging world
I don’t measure it. I’m just doing what I do for me. My “success” is my own.
Follow Nadine here:
