I’m Totally Using Blogher ’14 As A Way To Escape My Kids

I think anyone with two very small children, a full time job, and a sorry bank account can understand how being able to take a solo vacation can seem like a pipe dream. No way. How does a mother of a one-year-old and a three-year-old – who also works from home – swing boarding a plane by herself to go anywhere? She goes to Blogher, that’s how. Thank you Blogher, for existing. Not only are you an amazing resource and cool event – you are providing me with something priceless; an opportunity to fly across the country alone.

Blogher is a yearly conference for bloggers in all arenas – food, politics, fitness, parenthood, and just about everything in between. There are panels that provide you with amazing resources, professionals giving you advice, and amazing celebrity keynote speakers. I went to Blogher for the first time in 2012. I had been writing my blog for less than a year at that time, but when I found out the location was in NYC – I decided to go. I was living there at the time, so it just seemed like a sign that I should go. I was nervous as hell and wondering if I even belonged there with the level of experience I had – but I took a deep breath and bought a ticket anyway.

I’ve always thought of myself as a pretty outgoing person, but is it even possible not to be socially awkward at an event surrounded by thousands of people who have been doing something you do – only probably better and longer? That’s a hypothetical question. Because the answer of course is – no, it’s not. But I had a martini in the hotel bar and psyched myself up for starting a conversation with a group of women – and the weekend became amazing. I met a bunch of writers I respect and decided that all of the stuff I learned in the workshops and panels was valuable enough for me to return again the next year.

Then I got pregnant again. Baby number two and a pretty major move made next year’s Blogher an impossibility. I sort of convinced myself it would be an impossibility for many more years – a second baby doesn’t do much for your finances. But when I found out it was going to be in San Jose, California this year the wheels began turning; I’ve spent half my life there, have a lot of connections, and knew I could get a really cheap hotel. I became determined that Blogher would rescue me from my children for a few days.

While racking my brain trying to figure out how Blogher could be my lifeline to three days of sleeping in in a hotel room alone – I realized that damn it, I have something to add to Blogher. I started writing about three years ago and now I’m able to support my family on my freelance career. I pitched a freelance panel and it was accepted. Blogher basically wrapped its arms around me and said “Come hither, burnt out mom. We have adults here. And hotel rooms. You will know what it’s like to sleep without anyone beckoning you in the night.”

It would be a little strange to admit that I’m going to a conference full of bloggers, to show would-be freelancers how to make a living blogging about motherhood – to ultimately escape my kids. So I won’t admit it.

I’ll just say I can’t wait.

(photo: Alan Poulson Photography/ Shutterstock)