Why being a mommy blogger is like winning the lottery

*in typical AA fashion* Hi. My name is Ashlee, and I'm a mommy blogger. *waits for everyone to say hello back*  

Mommy blogging is an addiction. You wake up one morning and say to yourself, "You know.....if everyone else can do it and be successful and popular and funny, I can too. I'm gonna give this a shot." So you boot up your computer, make yourself a little blog and Facebook page, and you wait. It's slow at first, you only have a few hundred people who think you're a genius (or a lunatic....depends on how you look at it.)  Then something happens. People start relating to you. They share you with their friends. Other Mommy (and Daddy) bloggers start taking notice to you. Next thing you know, it becomes your crack. You've just gotta check, post, comment, write a million times a day. A day without internet causes tremors, explosive diarrhea, and gout. Now....you may be thinking this is a BAD thing. And for your children and housework, sometimes it is.  That's not what I'm focusing on though. Let's forget about all the bad stuff that comes with a raging internet addiction. Want to know what I'm REALLY talking about?

Mommy blogging is like hitting the lottery. You don't get a ton of money, (I actually don't get ANY for it haha), but you get rich.  You meet people. People who may change your outlook on life. People who you wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to meet. And these people, they aren't just your average Joe. They are every day heroes. Other mommy bloggers, out there in the world, fighting for a better place for our children to inherit.  For example, remember Donna Day? I sure do.  The day where over 50 of us bloggers came together for one common purpose.  We met someone, and she inspired us. We poured our emotions out in our blogs, some of us even shaved our hair off for the cause. Mary Tyler Mom is the Mommy Blogger face for Pediatric Cancer. She wakes up every morning, and she inspires us. Knowing her is like hitting the feel-good jackpot. She has also started a non profit in her daughter's name, Donna's Good Things.

Need more convincing? Take the tragedy at the Boston Marathon. This crushed America's spirit. It tore us open, raw emotions flew. We all posted our sympathies and condolences, wishing there was something more we could do.  the crumb diaries took action, though.  Logan, a very special teenage boy, created a simple stuffed animal. He does this all the time, but this time is different. The stuffed animal's name is Halo, and he's the Supercat of Boston.  They put him up on eBay with the hopes that they could help raise a little money for onefundboston.org. In only two days, the bidding is up to 350.00. All because a boy was hurting, and he decided he wanted to help.  Again....winning the lottery.

Now, there are MANY more stories, these are just two of my recent favorites, ones that really touched me. Every single day, we as bloggers fight for what we believe in. We DO make a difference. Becoming part of this community is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I consider myself rich because of the people I have virtually surrounded myself with.  Sure, some days all we do is post a few funny pictures or statuses, add a recipe or two, and generally entertain you. Then there are the WOW days. The days that will blow your mind, make you realize that you CAN do something to change the world. There is so much good left in people, we just need to stop focusing so much on all the negativity in order to let the light shine through. 

I'm adding a list here at the bottom of the bloggers who inspire me every day. Please, take a minute to check them out, and to see how amazing my favorite every day heroes are :)

the crumb diaries
Mary Tyler Mom
Shut The Front Door
Slice of Humble
The Plucky Procrastinator
My Children Think I'm Perfect
My Sudden Attack Of Conscience

There are certainly many more inspiring people out there. This is my personal favorite list. We CAN change the world, and we're doing it one blogger at a time :)