How to be a better man through blogging (your results may vary)

It's been a while since I posted something here, at least something that isn't technology or Apple related. When this blog launched in 2011, I imagined it to be something dynamic that would ebb and flow with my whims. I've had a website in one form or another since 1995, and my style has evolved considerably since then. But I'm known for taking on too many projects at any one time. When you add on my tendency to procrastinate, one or all of those projects wind up suffering. (Note to self: Remember that book you said you were going to write.)

I told myself that I would not let blogging be a casualty of my personality, but an extension of it. I wanted to blog more than just a hobby or providing periodic updates on Shannon's health status (she's doing well by the way – more on that later). But throwing the occasional app or technology review on this blog didn't quite mesh with the goals I laid out, and the terms of WordPress's free blogs limited my ability to transition to a more business-like model. Apple's transition away from MobileMe also meant I would be losing my current web servers, and I needed to find a new one. So I purchased a few domain names, partnered with a friend to help me with web hosting, and BisManApps.com was born. In the spring, I launched TheMobileLens.com as a subset of that blog to be a showcase for iPhone photography.

I expanded my use of social media to include new accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Managing multiple social personalities isn't easy, but I've slowly gotten accustomed to it. It's fun to meet and share ideas with new and interesting people. Even though I blog less than I want to or probably should, the daily interaction I have with my friends and followers through these networks drive me to keep at it.

This brings me full circle. It has been two years since Shannon was diagnosed with breast cancer. That gut punch took most of the air out of my sails, and frightened me to no end. Fears of losing the love of my life. Fears of being a single father. Fears of my son growing up without his mother. Those fears were compounded by being an Air Force Brat with no real hometown. My support network was vast, but with family and friends spread throughout the country, I feared that even the fantastic friends I had in Bismarck would never be enough to fully help me through this. Social media provided me an outlet to express those fears. Blogging our experiences gave me a voice I thought I had lost years ago. Suddenly, distances didn't matter. Strangers became friends, and my support network grew.

Thankfully, Shannon's cancer was completely treatable. We still had to deal with the ups and downs of surgery, chemotherapy, nausea, radiation, more surgery, drepression, and anxiety. Adding a toddler to the mix caused a significant strain, but we were together. My fears still remain, but they are tempered with the knowledge that Shannon isn’t going anywhere. We have our jobs, our home, and each other. Every day, I tell myself we will get through this. And every day, I try to do something to help ease the burdens that Shannon carries and help alleviate her fears. I’m not a perfect husband by any means, and I often stumble in that effort, but I’m trying. What matters is we are a family, and that is only support network one really needs.

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