I had a surreal experience this morning as I was scrolling mindlessly through my Facebook news feed instead of getting on with my morning run.

A post I had written was shared by a friend after one of her friends (who I have no connection to) shared it.

That’s a really long winded way of saying…

One of my posts went viral.

I wrote a post for Dallas Moms on my husband and I’s experience of going through my mother-in-law’s house and possessions following her recent death. 

After the gut-wrenching experience of deciding which of her things were saved and which end up sold, donated, or in a landfill, we’ve decided to reduce the amount of stuff we own so our daughters won’t have a similar experience 40 years (fingers crossed) down the road.

The extra motivation? We learned that most of what we think is valuable—like our wedding china and Waterford crystal—is basically worthless (meaning little to no resale value). 

In case you weren’t one of the 500,000 people who viewed it (or 165,000 people who shared, commented on, or liked it on Facebook), here’s the link.

Apologies for the self-aggrandizing, but having a post go viral is a bit like catching a Hail Mary pass or picking the winning Lotto numbers.

So what have I learned from this experience?

I enjoy reading/responding to the negative comments as much I do the positive ones

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty cool thing to have people say things like “you are so right” or “I’m going totally follow your advice.”

But you know what’s also pretty cool? Having someone take the time to read what you wrote and write a very thoughtful explanation of why they think you are full of it, I mean wrong.

Why? Because I write about things that really interest me, things that I want to learn more about. And the way you learn more is to have people challenge you and share their own life experiences that shaped their perspective.

What did I learn from the negative comments? Scanning old photos and then DESTROYING the originals is a big no-no for a lot of people, especially photographers.

Point taken people. From now on I will keep originals of old photos, especially the black and white ones and professionals. But I am pretty sure it’s okay to save just one photo of my husband and his third grade Pine Derby car and not a 100.

It takes a village…of people with huge social media followings

I’m thankful for each and everyone of you who have been reading my musings on the law, work, family life, and whatever else popped into my head over the last 2 years.

And pretending to find my mom jokes funny.

I’m fortunate that a few of you have social media followings I can only hope to aspire to and I am grateful you continue to share my stuff, week after week.

I still have no clue what it takes for a post to go viral

My last name isn’t Kardashian and I still haven’t figured out what it takes to make something go viral.

Maybe I’ll never have another post go viral or anywhere close to viral.

Or maybe, if I keep on writing about what interests me, challenge myself to learn more and become a better writer, and take to heart the comments (good and bad) of those who take the time to read my stuff, lighting will strike twice.

Here’s to 500,000…and 1.

If you could write something that would be read by thousands of people, what would you write about? Leave a comment or send me an email.

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