Life’s Seasons

On a more personal note, I found it amusing when I realized lately that this blog reflects the many seasons of my life. I started this as a personal blog going by the handle of “Frenchraisins.” It was more of random thoughts and weekend pursuits, at a time when personal blogging was a thing. Those were the good old days of the internet. 

The early days, in which we just enjoyed browsing things online and sharing our interests without being scrutinized by the world. My interest in traveling soon grew, so this blog evolved to be a travel blog (The Introverted Weekender), to a couple travel blog (Ivan + Khris’ Travels), then to a family travel & parenting blog (Dad On The Move) when we finally had kids. I was Dad On The Move for about six years, writing content that resonated with me, doing brand collabs, and being active on social media.

However, lately, I realized that the blogging and content creation landscape has changed. The algorithm is still not in my favor, and short videos are what viewers demand. I was also no longer as interested in doing brand collabs as before. My social media posts became fewer, partly because I wanted to dedicate my time to activities that truly interest and inspire me. 

I also began to write fewer parenting articles on my blog (although I still post about family milestone updates). Well, that’s because I realized that I don’t really believe in the advice of parenting “influencers.” Let me explain this, please. I appreciate the efforts of parenting influencers, but if you think about things carefully, they’re also not experts. They rely on the advice of professionals and try them out for themselves. That’s nothing wrong with that, because at least you know that they filter for us what’s working or not.

But in the end, I understood that they were also doing trial and error, just like any other parent out there who is raising their kids. They also rely on gut feel, just like the rest of us. Instead of spending time reading about what they do or watching other content creators, I’ll just go ahead and do what I feel is right for my family. 

I encourage you try that, too. You’ll realize that you don’t really need an expert to help you with your daily parenting needs. Anyway, just keep in mind that the most important thing, and one that your family will truly appreciate, is that you give them time. Spend time with them on weekends, during breaktime, or right after work. That’s what truly matters.

I’m also not actively writing about autism awareness anymore. While I mindfully put a positive spin on my posts, I noticed would often start them with a slightly negative tone. I don’t want it to be like that or to convey the message that my son is a burden. On the contrary, we are extremely grateful that we have him in our lives. Whatever challenge we face is what all parents normally encounter, special needs or not.

On a different note, I also became really interested in documenting my town’s history (events, places, people, etc.) in my blog. This is a full circle moment for me because when I started this blog in 2006, I wanted to document my town’s local traditions, proverbs, sayings, local legends, beliefs, and so on. However, during that time, references were scarce. 

I didn’t know how to start back then because I was based in Metro Manila and I didn’t know any local historian whom I could ask. Then again, with the popularity of social media, I was able to gather good information from my kababayans who would comment on my posts, provide their stories, and share the knowledge that they have.

Having said that, I think a new season is already underway, and with that, I have rebranded my blog (again) to Ivan On The Move. If you are a long-time reader, you may have already noticed the change in my social media handles and my blog title. It’s not really a major change; I’m just expanding my topic and not limiting it to family travel and parenting. I’m going back to the basics of blogging, and that is to document life’s seasons as well as the things that interest us and make us happy.

If you made it ‘til here, thank you for always supporting and reading my articles! I hope you will stay and continue to read stories like this one. It’s during this time that old-time bloggers like me badly need your support.

Again, please accept my deepest gratitude, and I wish you well in all your endeavors!

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