Spotlight Blogger: Meet Coley

Coley reading with Noah on the left and Charlie, on the right

To a lot of us, Coley is a very familiar face.  She's a trusted friend to us and one of the founders of this wonderful website and subsequent community.  She has a blog called Coley's Corner, where she blogs about her crafts and her adventures as wife and mom to Noah, her parented son.  However, she doesn't use that forum to talk about the fact that she is in fact a birthmom.  She recently started a personal blog to talk about adoption and her role as a birthmother: Living the Bittersweet Life.  I wanted to interview her so that people would be able to know her even better and appreciate yet another facet of who she is.  Without further ado, my interview with Coley!


First, please tell us a bit more about yourself (name, age, where you live, what led you to making an adoption plan, and anything else you feel comfortable sharing).

I’m currently in my mid 30’s and live in the Carolinas. I’m raising my son, Noah, who has special needs and is currently 15 years old. I placed my son, Charlie, in an open adoption following his birth in 2001.

When and why did you begin blogging? 

I actually began blogging in 2005 as a paid blogger writing about open adoption and unplanned pregnancy. Soon after that I discovered I enjoyed blogging but wanted to write on a more personal level so I started a family blog. Earlier this year, I realized I needed to blog about my adoption and the issues and feelings I experience as a birthmother on a deeply personal level, so I decided to start a personal blog about adoption.

Tell us more about the title of your blog, "Living the Bittersweet Life.". Why did you choose it? 

One of my favorite words to describe being a birthmother in an open adoption is bittersweet. It’s sweet to be a part of his life but bitter at the same time because I’m not the one raising him so Living the Bittersweet Life seemed an appropriate title.

Has the response to your posts been mostly positive, mostly negative, or a mix of both?
 
Well, to be completely honest, there hasn’t been a whole lot of any kind of response because I haven’t given the blog URL out to many people yet. But the response I have had thus far has been positive and encouraging.

What post on your blog do you consider a “must read” for people visiting your blog for the first time? Or what post(s) from your blog is (or are) your favorite(s) and why? 

My favorite post is probably Being a Birthmom is Bittersweet because it describes how I feel as a birthmother in an open adoption.

Do you have any advice for someone thinking of starting their own blog? 

Just do it! Don’t worry if you aren’t able to post everyday or if you don’t think you are the best writer in the world. Blogging and getting your emotions out can be healing and helpful so a blog can sometimes be more for the writer and the readers are just lucky to get a peek inside your heart.