Hey! I Want to Tell Ya Somethin’

I wanted to stop for a second and tell you a couple things.

First off, I so, so appreciate when you guys stop your day to connect with me. I love when you comment on my posts with your stories about your children, your nieces, your grandchildren, etc. It makes me happy to read through your comments each day and know that I’m not alone in the mundane, the insane, and the chaotic madness of life. I truly enjoy connecting with you. Second from writing, that’s my favorite part of this whole “blogger life” that I love most—you guys.

Today I saw a post on my page, which was actually a mention of my SmashleyAshley FB page by One Ruud Mom

I was so incredibly humbled by her words, I mean, wow, what a nice and refreshing thing to read about yourself, right?

Allow me to check my humble at the door for a moment—

The thing is, this is not the first time I have read this. A few of you have sent personal messages my direction mentioning that you appreciate my site, my Facebook page, my candor, sharing my family and our lunacy with you all, or my tell-it-like-it-is mentality. However, the thing that’s most jarring to me is when I read mentions of “I love how you respond to your fans, that you actually recognize us and take the time to write us back.”

“Your fans.”

“Take the time to respond.”

I won’t lie, the first time I read that, I re-read the message to make sure this particular individual was writing the right person. I mean, maybe she meant to send it to some huge writer/blogger? I am not someone worthy of having “fans.” I am Ashley Alteman. I buy my pants at Costco. I don’t usually wear a bra. I have a dinosaur tattoo on my arm. I have a child who will only go by the name of “Barb,” “Barb Marley,” and most recently, “Barbara.” I honestly thought she meant to send the message to someone else—until I saw my name.

Here is what I want to tell you all: My SmashleyAshley Facebook page; the ridiculous, the silly, the “OMG SHE DID NOT,” the Barb Marley stories—that is my life. I enjoy sharing it with you. Like I said above, I love reading your responses, I LOVE connecting with you. I’ve never once thought of any of you as “fans.” If anything, I think of you more so as friends.  Every once in a while, a dipshit “friend” comes along and we have to tell him to be on his way because he thinks that a mother supporting her transgendered son is “ABSURD AND DISGUSTING.” But, those fuckers are few and far between; the other 99.9% of you, I am grateful to have. That’s the thing that you may not know, and what I wanted to tell you most with this blog post. I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for you all.

In a little over one year, I have made over 3,500 friends. While we are from far and wide, different backgrounds and beliefs, that is what makes this so much fun. I don’t mind a challenging comment here or there (so long as said commenter is not a TOTAL discriminatory dick), I enjoy reading the different opinions you all possess. While SmashleyAshley is my page, I like to look at it as a place that many other people chat, too. The other day I saw someone mention she was a nutritionist in a certain city. I then saw someone comment below her that she was in the same city, and looking for a nutritionist for her family! I believe the two even connected—I mean, HOW FUCKING COOL IS THAT!?

The support that you all provide by reading my articles, by sharing my posts, by commenting with words that often make me teary, by “liking”, and by clicking that brown banner at the bottom of all my posts, it not only makes this a total blast, it helps me. Yes, you read that correctly, it helps me. There are a plethora of ways that it helps, but my point is that I don’t believe that I’d have this amazing outlet if it weren’t for you. I work a full-time job in addition to writing periodically for other sites and my own, and this is “my fun,” and hopefully, one day, I can afford to make this a full-time gig so I can hire someone to do my monkey work that I do for my husband and I’s company. Until then, I do both and I share my insanity with you all.

So to all of you with your incredibly kind, heartfelt, and funny words, thank-you, friends. Whether you are a mom, grandmother, dad, uncle, aunt, fellow blogger, or a dinosaur, I wouldn’t be able to do this without the incredible support you provide. You guys make me want to be a better person, to keep writing, to continue learning, to keep posting; you make me happy and again, I am grateful for you. For all of you.

One year ago, I would’ve never, in a million years, imagined that I’d be featured on other websites such as Scary Mommy and HuffPost, or a cadre writer for BLUNTmoms, much less imagined an incredible group of people who read my madness on both my Facebook page and my site, but because of your support, my blogging friends support, my family’s support, your love and comments, I kept going. And, now, here we are.

It fulfills me in a way I cannot explain that my silly stories about life; the happy, the sad, the stories about failing some days as a mom and human, that they make you laugh, feel, and smile, too.

So, that’s why I respond to you, why I write you back, why I respond to comments—because you are my friends, because you support me, because you show the love to Barb and I and make us smile every day, because I am grateful to have you as a part of my life in the capacity that the internet affords.

Thank-you for giving me this outlet. Thank-you for every last one of your words. Not one of them goes un-noticed, or un-felt, ever. You all make me smile, make my heart warm, and make me laugh. Every day. Every day.

I kind of feel like an asshole for telling you all how grateful I am for you and then asking you to click the banner below–But I’m just going to go on ahead and do just that—CLICK THE BANNER!!! HAHAHA. Pleaseee! 🙂