REFLECTIONS
This was my twelfth year doing the A to Z Challenge. When I did my first challenge in 2013, there were over 1,800 participants. This year there were 179. I didn’t notice a big change in the number of comments. In fact, I may have gotten a few more this year. I was especially happy to get comments from several of my family members!
This year for the A to Z Challenge I posted an event for each date involving someone in my family tree. I had all of my posts pre-written. I did a bit of editing on the last few right before they published because I had left them since I had so much time and then forgotten. After reading On This Day in April by CRGalvin, I decided that every day during April I would also pick a happening from my family history that happened on that date.
I enjoyed finding the daily items and was able to make some new connections in my ancestors lives. When I do the A to Z Challenge, I have to look at my information in a different way. I look at facts that I may not have paid much attention to and find connections previously ignored.
You will find a list of my posts from this year here -> A to Z Challenge 2025 – April Family Happenings. I noticed some people are breaking down how many posts they did for men and how many for women this month. I did 13 for women (including two for me) and ten for men. With the remaining three about the founding of Witherspoon United Presbyterian Church including both.
I visited and commented on a variety of blogs. I did not attempt to visit all of them. These are the blogs I visited and commented on most days.
Anne’s Family History: family members matching the alphabet – Anne Young
Atherton’s Magic Vapour: a murder mystery – Melanie Atherton
A Multitude of Musings: personal growth and self-improvement – Astrid
Black and White: Bittersweetness & Light – Anne E.G. Nydam
Bold + Queer Kin: Melissa
CRACKERBERRIES: Empathy – Barbie
The Curry Apple Orchard: The Swinging Sixties – Linda Curry
Earlier Years: On This Day in April – CR Galvin
Family history across the seas: Airports, Airstrips, Aircraft, and Airlines – Cassmob (Pauleeen Cass)
How would you know…:Nonlinear memoir – Andrew Wilson
JillBallAu: jottings, journeys, joy – Jill Ball
Joy’s Book Blog: Activism – Joy Weese Moll
Living the Dream: personal musings – Susanne Matthews
Madly-in-Verse: all about Sarees – Nilanjana Bose
Musings of a Middle-Aged Mom: based on travel through Egypt, Turkey, and Greece – Lisa
Tell Me Another | personal stories, creative non-fiction: Books she loves – Josna Rege
Tracking Down The Family: The Earl Grey Orphan Scheme – Jennifer Jones
Very Important Stuff Here: Characters – tiredhamster
Thanks to the team that organizes the A to Z Challenge, to my husband who proof reads my posts and catches problems and to all those who read my posts and comment.
Congratulations on completing another year! I always enjoy the stories you share.
I can’t believe I didn’t have you in the blogs I followed closely. I’m always ambivalent about that list because I usually forget a few. I’ve added you because I enjoyed your theme this year and also the little morals at the end, especially the one on why one should push your book. 🙂
I have lived every thing uou have written! Cheers to family stories!
Yay Jan! So good to see you here today!
I loved this idea. I have a genealogy document from my family going back to the Revolutionary War. There’s an idea. I couldn’t speak to any of them like this, but this was a great journey. Thanks!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I visited you once and don’t know why I didn’t go back. I must have forgotten to bookmark. I just went back and read a few more posts. See you next year.
I enjoyed learning about your family. I got such a kick out of the anniversary dates. What a wonderful way to celebrate the month of April!
Thanks Joy. I really enjoyed doing it.
Wow, it’s impressive that you’ve done the A to Z challenge for 12 years. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you via our blogs over the years.
I have enjoyed reading all the old recipes you post. I don’t always comment because I’m sometimes on my phone. It’s pretty impressive that you post 365 days a year!
I was afraid that nobody would be interested in mine and my family’s stories, but your constant commenting and your own A to Z prove that it’s all about the telling, thanks so much Kristin…
And thank you for sharing your story. I did a different A to Z challenge years ago using the streets I lived on as the basis. There’s something freeing about telling your life in a nonlinear fashion.
It sounds like you did a lot of work. I think writing the posts before the challenge is less stressful though I haven’t tired it yet. Your theme requires research so you need more time to prepare and write unlike me who just wing it. Congrats on finishing the challenge.
Have a lovely day.
It is less stressful for me to write ahead. This theme actually took less research than I usually do. Maybe because I’d already written about some of them before and I just had to focus in on the event of that date.
Your twist of using dates to focus your posts was very clever. And congratulations on your twelfth challenge – very impressive!
Thank you. I just visited your blog, which I somehow missed during the challenge. I’ll be back!
Congrats on finishing the challenge!
Ronel visiting for <a href="Ronel visiting for A-Z Challenge Reflections for A to Z Blogging Challenge 2025
Thanks!
I really enjoyed all of your posts during the challenge! Congrats on the completion!! Thanks for the shout out.
I’m glad you enjoyed them! I enjoyed doing them. Sort of a treasure hunt for happenings in April.
I loved loved loved your theme for this year! I’m sure I’ve said this before but the idea of finding something for each day in April AND to have supporting stuff in black and white for it, is just beyond extraordinary. Hat’s off!
I wasn’t able to read all of the entries, but intend catching up now that the mad rush is over. Have a great May.
Thank you, thank you!
Congratulations on completing another challenge and sharing more of your family istory and photographs.
Thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog throughout the month – comments are very encouraging.
I appreciated your visits throughout the challenge and throughout the year. I also find comments encouraging.
Congrats on completing another Challenge, Kristin. First, I love the way you’ve doubled and mirror-imaged that lovely photo. Second, I got the distinct feeling that you were enjoying writing the posts this year–that it wasn’t too high-pressure. You varied your topics well, and I liked the three posts on Witherspoon United Presbyterian Church, because it conveyed to me your family members’ staying power and staunch community spirit.
Congrats, too, on completing the posts in advance–something that I can only aspire to do, and thank you so much for your daily visits and comments on mine. Thanks also for your encouragement to take up the challenge again this year and in learning how to use the block system in WordPress.
Cheers!
I told you the block system wasn’t impossible to learn!
Yes, I did enjoy writing the posts this year. Most of them were from newspaper items, plus I had already researched them for other posts. So, not the deep dive I usually do. I had another topic planned and that would have taken much more writing and research.
So, plan now to do next year and start thinking of a topic. That way you will get a chance to pre-write.