Fin

So, what can I say that doesn't sound like a lot of cliché? The first and most obvious affect is in the amount of posting compared to the rest of the year: March, 4 posts. February, 6, and January, 5 posts. April? 27 posts. I was fortunate to have posted something on April 1st, or else I wouldn't have noticed Arlee Bird's invite to the Challenge.

So primarily, it really lit a fire under my arse to write. Funnily, two or three days before the Challenge was issued, I had been reading on Blog-promotion (mostly on problogger.com ) and said to my wife that I really need to work at providing content before I work at drawing eyes to my Blog. Careful what you ask for, eh?

I found that when put into a position where I need to write something, I can deliver, and that was a huge confidence-boost. It wasn't always gold, and it wasn't always on time, but every letter got covered. It also gave me the chance to write about things that I couldn't fit into another context. This was meant to be a “Daddy Blog,” and while that's my primary role in life right now, it isn't all I bring to the table. I was happy to have an excuse to write about other things.

At the same time, with 26 posts, I needed to fish for ideas. Often. Many times, I went to the dictionary, and bounced ideas off of my wife. She's quite clever, you know. For a human.
Most importantly, I had the chance to meet and get acquainted with a LOT of new Bloggers out there, and follow and be followed by a wide variety of writers. Lots of you now feel like friends, and I'm glad I had the chance to get to know ya'll. I'm looking forward to seeing what you're like outside of the A-Z Challenge. Not that there wasn't some trepidation; not only was I now accountable to twice as many people to deliver interesting content on a regular basis (really, my following DOUBLED – and then some – within a month), but many of you are of a decidedly Christian persuasion, and I'm a little worried about being offensive. Trying to balance that with not censoring myself, or being insincere has been a bit of a juggle (cheers, Arlee!). I'm happy and humbled that I can be myself, and those of you that are Christians aren't just 'Churchy,' but show love and acceptance regardless of my beliefs. I can't thank you enough.

If this becomes an annual thing, count me in! I'd be glad to do another challenge, but I think I'll need to sit-out the “15 Favorite Albums” one. I just need a little breathing room before I jump into another Challenge, but I'll have my ear to the ground to know what other challenges are proposed. I'm still flirting with the NaNoWriMo idea though. I chickened-out last year, and regret it, but the truth is, I wasn't up to it.

Thank you to all of you for the community support, and mostly for holding up your end of the deal with all of the great content you've contributed to the Challenge. It's the end of the beginning, and I'm honored to be swept into this upward-spiral!

To the Coming Revolution of the Children of the Day.