Guilted Into Blogging

Hello out there . . .  (ECHO--Echo--echo)

picture of the Grand Canyon

  It's me, I'm back.  It's been about a year since I last posted a blog entry.  I've started a few and never finished them.  Ever since opening the brick and mortar store I've been frantically juggling time.  There never seems to be enough time to get everything done.  The first year of running a store is a challenging one.  Lots to learn.  The first thing to fall by the wayside as I struggled to fit everything into a neat tidy 24 hours, was blogging.

  With all my new tasks and responsibilities running the store I don't get the chance to whittle away my hours doing all the fun things I used to blog about.  Gone are the hours devoted to writing my impressions on the nuances between Moroccan and Indian orange blossom complete with photos.  These days I spend my time training new employees, packing orders,  filling perfume bottles, entering wholesale orders into Quickbooks, unpacking supplies, explaining why our fragrances don't smell like Calvin Klein, booking events, mopping the floor, figuring out the monthly sales tax bill, decorating the store window, sourcing new packaging, dodging sales reps determined to sell me everything from office supplies to payroll services, teaching perfume classes, attending neighborhood small business association meetings, and occasionally working on a new perfume and/or product.  Sigh.  See what I mean?  How dreadfully boring, right?  Nobody wants to read about the drudgery involved in my everyday life.  And this combined with my lack of time is exactly why I haven't been blogging.

Last month I taught a weekend long natural perfumery course.  The attendees were some of the brightest, nicest and most passionate I've encountered.  I really love meeting these kindred spirits who have such a yen for perfumery.  At some point during the weekend, as we sat around the table the topic of blogging came up.  One student exclaimed, "I love reading your blog!"

"Yeah, me too.  How come you never write anymore?" another questioned.  I was surprised and unprepared for the question.

"I, ahh--I just never seem to have the time anymore," I blurted out.

"I really wish you would start writing again.  I really liked to hear about what you were doing."  To say I was touched and surprised would be putting it mildly.

So here I am.  One lapsed year of blogging.  Trying to write again.