After being away from my daughters at a blogging conference for a whole day and missing their bedtimes, my little girls gave me more than the usual hugs and kisses the next morning. And that, my friends, was the best part of Bloggy Boot Camp Chicago.

What I mean by that statement, of course, is that time away from my family is a good thing. Being away from my daughters and husband for the day recharged my batteries as a mother and wife. Being in a room full of women who had the same passion as I do about blogging was invigorating.

It was also terrifying.

Let me explain. The hostesses, Tiffany and Francesca, were awesome. They were so friendly and personable. After being a part of SITS, a blogging support community, for so long, it was great to meet them in person.

The speakers were all experts in their field. As they spoke, I felt as though we were all instant friends. Questions were fielded in such a thoughtful way and no question was ignored or tossed aside.

The terrifying part came in between the sessions, when we were to “talk among ourselves.”

And I don’t even mean the time I found myself sitting at the same table as The Empress and became completely and utterly tongue-tied. I don’t know if the other women sitting at the table felt the same as I did, but we were the quietest table in a room full of women chatting away!

Awkward.

No, that’s not the moment.

It was the moment when someone first asked me what my blog was about.

I want my blog to stick out; to be a blog that is memorable. Promoting my blog was one of the reasons I was there, after all. But I hadn’t really thought about what I would tell people about my blog.

I took a deep breath and I blurted it out: I write about being a mother after having breast cancer.

Here on Lemon Drop Pie, I write about breast cancer frequently and without hesitation. Having a space to write about being a breast cancer survivor was one of the reasons I started this blog.

Talking about breast cancer in real life, however, is much different for me. It’s not a topic I bring up often. In fact, I hardly ever talk about having breast cancer. When I do talk about it, my heart starts to beat faster and I need to stop my voice from trembling. Even after 15 years, it’s still difficult to talk about.

If I want to be a advocate for young breast cancer survivors, I need to get used to talking about breast cancer as well as writing about my experiences.

Each time I told another person about my blog, the subject matter became just a little bit easier to talk about.

It was an unexpected accomplishment; a goal I didn’t set out to accomplish and yet did.

Amazing!

I learned so much about blogging, social media and design at Bloggy Boot Camp Chicago! Hopefully you will see some changes on Lemon Drop Pie showing off some of what I learned. If there is a Boot Camp coming to your area and blogging is your passion, I highly recommend attending!