Tagged

Can't think of anything substantial to write, so I was glad when Manda at I Think I Hear Your Mother Calling tagged me with the following meme.

The Rules
1. Write about 5 specific ways blogging has affected you, positively or negatively.
2. Link back to the person who tagged you.
3. Tag a few friends or none at all.
4. Post the rules and follow them or break them at your leisure.

FIVE WAYS BLOGGING HAS AFFECTED ME

1. For me, blogging allays some of my feelings of loneliness. I need never feel alone because of all you out there to hold me up.

2. The experience of blogging and reading other blogs makes me want to encourage others, to reassure them that they are not alone.

3. I'm much more aware now of all the things that can and do go wrong on the path to building a family. I'm a lot more nervous about pregnancy and ART than I was before I started reading blogs. I guess I thought that the main issue would be getting me pregnant and then, once I was, there would be no issues. I know really know that the worry continues forever.

4. Hand in hand with #3, blogging and the community of bloggers has given me a good resource for learning about infertility, treatments, adoption and even about how to raise a family. Now, when I visit my RE, I'm an "informed consumer" and can make educated choices about how we pursue treatments.

5. Finally, while I've always been pretty outspoken in my beliefs, I don't think I ever confronted strangers about their misconceptions prior to my start in blogging. Now I feel free to set them straight and if they've got a problem, tant pis for them.

I don't tag anybody, but if you do choose to do this meme, please let me know so that I can read your answers. :)