GLIMPSE INTO GRANDPA’S LIFE
It was last winter at a basketball game that someone first mentioned to me that I should write a blog. Why should I write a blog? I asked her. She said to me, how she enjoys following me on Facebook and all the different things and events that I do. It’s just fun to see what you’re up too and where you are.
I explained to her, that it is because of my job at the radio station that I get to meet many people and do so many different things. I finished telling her that I am not a writer, that I am a radio guy, I talk! I was flattered by the fact that someone was interested in what I was doing. It was a few weeks later that another person had said almost the same thing to me. When that happened I went home and googled ‘Blogging’.
I knew nothing about blogging, so I was surprised to find out just how big blogging is on the internet. Its huge. I do remember the movie “Julie & Julia” with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. How the character played by Amy Adams “blogged” about making a recipe from Julia Childs cookbook and blogging about her experience every day.
Then it was like God confirmed to me that I should take up blogging when a third person mentioned it to me and encouraged me a lot to do this. So in April I wrote my first blog. Brittany Haugen was instrumental in getting me started in this adventure and helped me get things set up on the internet. My wife Roxie is my editor. Both of them have assisted me greatly in this.
I did struggle at first. You see, I am not a writer. My English is terrible. So kids if you’re reading this pay attention in English class. I decided to give it a trial run, because I really don’t need another thing to do. I was only going to do this for a month or two. My plan was to do two blogs a week, Wednesday and Sunday.
What happened in those two months of the trial period was shocking and amazing to me. I fell in love with writing a blog! I’m hooked! During the trial period, I received an email from a real writer, an author of books! She said in her email how much she enjoys reading my blogs, she encouraged me, she gave me some constructive criticisms on how to improve my writing. I was so excited about that email, I printed it out and have it in my office at work. That was in April of 2017.
But the most important thing I have come to realize in my blogging, is this. I have done around 60 blogs so far, and if you print them out and put them in a folder, you have a thick book. Which I have done. One evening I was looking over all my blogs that I have written and realized that I am writing about my life, my experiences in life. Detailed things about me. My inner most thoughts, things I believe in, people I meet. What I am about.
I thought to myself what a wonderful gift this is for my own grandchildren to have. For them to read after I am long gone. Even my great-great grandchildren to read about their grandfather that they never met. I would give anything to have something like this about my grandfather, who died when I was very young and didn’t really know him. But if he would have blogged, like I’m blogging. I would know what kind of person he was, what was important to him. That would be cool.
I mentioned this to my son Brandon about a month ago, and for my 60th birthday he handed me a book. A book with all my blogs in it. I cried.
It looks so professional, like I’m a real writer. The blue cover simply says Raymo’s Rambling by Paul Raymo and on the inside of the cover it says:
Raymo’s Ramblings: A glimpse into the life of Paul Raymo
Now I blog for my grandchildren and my great grandchildren and my great great grandchildren.
