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BlogHer12: Bright sites, big city

When you are completely spent and sated at the same time and can’t put a coherent thought together, you might as well use bullet points.

  • BlogHer12 was my favorite yet (also in the ring were BlogHer08 and BlogHer10). I focused not on the parties or the swag or the $$ contacts or even the host city (it was freaking New York!), but on the sessions and on my friends, silver and gold ( Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.) I spent time — daytime, evening and wee hours — with Melissa, Kathy, Justine, Pomegranate, Kir, Meg (Kathy’s lovely sister), Kristin, Nicole, Emily…and drank of our time thirstily as though it would have to last through a 11.9-month drought. Sucked the marrow out of our time together, as Mel says.
  • I owe my husband a huge thank you. He managed to entertain our children while I gallivanted. And he showed up with them for a portion of my session. Having both my loves and lives  — my IRL and my URL (stealing this from Esperanza) in the same space was mind-blowing.

  • Many of the sessions I attended were fantastic. The conference team did a great job of gathering great content.
  • I sat on a panel session with Mel, Kathy and Kir. Right before it started we briefly entertained the notion of delivering the session in verse — Mel in iambic pentameter, Kathy in limerick (of course!), Kir in haiku and me in nursery rhyme. For some reason we didn’t pursue that any further.
  • Our session was called My Blog No Longer Fits Me! and clearly the topic of going through a blogdentity crisis resonated for many. We had a participative audience that was willing to share close-to-the-heart experiences of blogging unapologetically.You can take a gander at our concise virtual handout, which should make perfect sense even if you weren’t in attendance.
  • I’m thrilled that my daughter got to witness female friendships at their best. Our last night there, Tessa hung out with Mel, Justine, Kathy and me as we walked the streets of midtown in search of treats. She heard us banter, get to know each other more deeply, and wax poetic about how much we liked and respected each other. She struck up a fast friendship with Justine, inquired about Kathy’s angel-daughter, Molly, and she quizzed Mel about her distaste for white foods. (She also bargained for a $25 purse and walked out of the store with it for $7, but that’s her story to tell.) We basked in each others’ presence well past midnight, when we began to turn into pumpkins but wanted to eke out every possible moment together. My hope is that this magical night guides her in her own female friendships in the years to come.
  • Below are a few glimpses into my BlogHer12 experience (many photos are courtesy Kathy.)

Hopefully one more video post will come with quite the catchy tune. Waiting for collaborators to piece it together. Stay tuned!

20 Responses

  1. I love this. And I loved your session … so much that I couldn’t drag myself away! The fact that so many people spoke from the heart, in the audience, speaks volumes about how much that session was needed … not just for people who experience positive life change, either. I feel so blessed to have met you in person … and can’t wait to be together again! Next time we WILL find time for down-dog. 🙂 xo

  2. I kind of want to see the alternative version where you guys give the session IN verse. Could that be a possibility?!

    Wonderful panel, great speakers and such an emotional and heartfelt reaction from the audience. LOVED.

    And meeting you was a major highlight of this year for me.

  3. I loved looking at your pictures. So glad you had such a wonderful time and that you enjoyed the content as well as friends and family. It’s wonderful that your daughter got to spend time with you and your girlfriends – so important and something that my daughters don’t see enough of.

  4. It was so awesome meeting you!! It was a wonderful night!I feel like I was so quiet. I was a little overwhelmed and it blew my mind that I was there with such amazing bloggers. I just took it all in listening to everyone’s stories.

  5. Great pictures, great time… I really need to go one of these years… would love that!
    THanks for sharing with us and yes re-connecting is so awesome!

  6. I’ll work on my Haiku…if it means seeing any more of you, I’ll do it!!!!
    I loved sitting next to you, sharing your aura and space again, it was such a great experience for me to be with the women who inspire me, every single day.

    Love you my friend.

  7. So I read this yesterday and came back to comment today, but before I go any further… As I was re-reading (the first time I was on my phone), I noticed that when I move the cursor over the hyperlinks that you have included notes about the person or thing you are mentioning! LOVE THAT!!! What a treat! Okay, back to re-reading and will return shortly with my official comment! 🙂

  8. Okay, I’m back! It was so great to finally meet and get to spend so much time with you in person this weekend at BlogHer in NYC! It was an honor to sit on the panel with you and I am really proud of how our session/discussion went. You are so fun and also a calming presence, which I appreciated throughout the conference.

    I loved also getting to meet your husband and children. I can see why you all fit together so well and especially enjoyed when Tessa hung out with us gals on Saturday night.

    There is more I could probably say here, but for some reason my brain feels fried today (even though I haven’t done that much to make it so). Thank you for sharing your thoughts on BlogHer`12, how exciting (for me) to have been part of your favorite one! 🙂

  9. It was wonderful to have met you. Thank you all for including me at the ALI dinner. It was an amazing experience.

    I love that your husband and children sat in on your panel.

  10. It really does sound like an amazing trip. I’ve considered going this year but in the end, didn’t feel like I’d get much out of it other than meeting people I love in real life. Sounds like you did get quite a bit from it though?? Hm.

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