First things first: if you don’t get the title of this post because you’re too young to remember “Family Ties”, then I HATE YOU. I don’t know how you young ingrates with no morals or education SLEEP AT NIGHT! Go Google Alex P. Keaton and be educated or NEVER RETURN HERE AGAIN.
*Ahem*. Anyway.
As you should know (because really YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO US!!), Emily and I just returned from our very favorite blog conference, the Mom 2.0 Summit. As usual we had a great time, but NOT as usual, we were also IN THE PROGRAM as speakers.
Seriously, you guys, someone actually thought it was a good idea to put us up in front of people and have us act like we know things. Shocking, no? Even though I had filled out an application to speak, I seriously about hit the floor when the email came that said we were indeed two of the chosen ones.
Now, I should mention, that when I applied for Emily and me to speak, I also thought that (as is typical at these conferences) we’d probably be on a panel with a couple other people in a 45-minute session. So, imagine my shock when I learned the plan was that it would be JUST Emily and me leading a NINETY-MINUTE workshop. I immediately, and I am not even kind of exaggerating, broke out into the sickest cold sweat ever. My stomach lurched. Ninety minutes? As soon as I could form a thought, the thought that I formed was: “EMILY IS GOING TO KILL ME!” and her response predictably was, “WHAT HAVE YOU GOTTEN US INTO?”
*Gulp*
What had I gotten us into? Could we do this? I mean sure, we have lots of blogging experience and have worked with tons of great brands, and neither of us is a stranger to public speaking, but…ninety minutes? It seemed rather daunting. Also, there were eight other sessions on the schedule occurring at the SAME TIME as ours – eight! And by Saturday afternoon at 2, a lot of conference attendees are burned out. So we were pretty sure we would have about two people attend our workshop. Fingers crossed for four.
So we met, and we planned, and we made slides, and a spreadsheet, and collected quotes and anecdotes, and even threw in a graphic of our family tree that does not branch (speaking to a crowd? Open with a joke, especially if you’re the butt of it!) for funzies.
And by the time T-minus one day until departure rolled around, we were feeling, for the most part, really good about our presentation.
Until the last-minute jitters set in. And Emily texted me expressing some nerves. And in what I can only describe as an epiphany launched into my brain and I texted her back:
Here’s the thing that sets us apart from everyone else: if we screw up, embarrass ourselves, and are run out of the blogosphere – who cares? I love our blog but without it we still have each other, great families, houses, jobs. It is not our sole income and it is not our life. If we never go to another blog conference or see any of those people again? Our lives are still more than complete. I don’t think a lot of the other people there can say that.
{I know this next part may sound like I’m backtracking, but the above was said to Emily, and she knows my heart, so she knows what I meant and what I didn’t mean. Not all of you who read this will know me that well, so let me make sure you understand my intent.}
Now Em and I certainly don’t think we are bett-ah than anyone else. We are just…grounded. And I want to say that we love and value our friendships we’ve made via blogging. We have some that are long-standing and important to us, but they don’t supercede what we have here at home. And of course, I don’t mean to imply that there’s anything wrong with full-time, professional blogging. There are a lot of people who do that and do it well and – hootie hoo! – good for them!
But that’s not us. At the beginning of the day, and the end of the day, we are two first cousins, who are also fifth cousins, who like to write about our families and our neuroses and hopefully at least once in awhile, crack each other and YOU up. Or tell you you’re not alone, or give you strength through a struggle, or show off our ginormous tongues (ok, only Emily’s is ginormous!)
And if I am going to succeed at a blogging presentation, or if I am going to fall down flat on my (perfectly made-up) face and get run off the internetz, there’s no one I’d rather do it with than with my cousin Emily.
So that’s the way it is, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
(We totally rocked it by the way. And like, THIRTEEN whole people came!)
Thanks Mom 2.0, truly, for taking a chance on us. We loved every minute!
(Sha la la laaaaa!)
