How a Seed Planted in a Blog Blossomed

 

 

1. Carol Bodensteiner
   Twitter: CABodensteiner
   says:

   August 2, 2012 at 7:41 am (Edit)

   This is terrific, Flora. I can feel a national day recognizing kids who ‘grew up country’ coming in the near future.

   Reply
   • Flora says:

     August 3, 2012 at 12:45 am (Edit)

     This sounds great Carol. Go for it!

A few years later as I was browsing through my blog comments I  wondered what happened to Carol’s plans to start her own national day for kids who ‘grew up country’, so I emailed her in May 9, 2014. Here is the resulting email exchange:

Hi Carol,

Back in 2012 you commented on one of my blog posts

How to Create Your Own Day to Promote Your Book, Business or Cause

==============Your comment============
This is terrific, Flora. I can feel a national day recognizing kids who ‘grew up country’ coming in the near future.
====================================

Did you ever create this national recognition day?

I’m going to update and republish this article so I’m just wondering.

Warmly,
Flora

Within minutes I got this response from Carol.

Hi, Flora,

Nuts!  I didn’t! I guess I got so wrapped up in working on my novel, that it slid down the list.Now that you’ve brought it up again, I still think it’s a good idea. Could work for both my memoir and my novel.

I look forward to reading the update on the column.

Carol

Our exchange continued

Hi Carol,

LOL. I have many tasks that have slipped to the bottom of my list.

I ran across your comment as I was making a list of tasks for a
new VA I’m considering hiring.  I thought it would be fun to remind
visitors of comments they made on my blogs. You are the first so far.

We’ll see how far I’ll go with this idea.

I’ll let you know when I get to the update.

Happy Spring,

Flora

[Flora,]

That’s a good idea for staying in touch and building a relationship with your readers.

Here’s a new List I’m starting based on this conversation:

“Ideas inspired by reading blogs that I want to act on someday”  I realize there’s a structural issue in that list title, but I can’t figure it out.

Have a good weekend.

[Carol]

Ten months later I got an update from Carol via a Facebook message and the following exchange took place.

March 6, 2015

Hi, Flora,

I wanted to let you know the seed you planted has taken root. On Monday, March 9, at 2:00 p.m., Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will sign a Proclamation declaring March 18, 2015, “I Grew Up Country Day.” Author Shirley Showalter and I are launching an initiative to celebrate the country way of life and preserve growing up country stories.

 

March 6

Wow! How exciting to learn that you followed through with my “seed”.

[Flora]

 

Not only did Carol take this idea and plant it, but she nurtured it all the way to the Office of Iowa Governor Terry Branstad. Thanks to the efforts of Carol and her colleague, Shirley Hershey Showalter,  March 18th is now officially I Grew Up Country Day.

Congratulations Carol and Shirley!

It is my pleasure to share Carol’s post detailing how I Grew Up Country Day came about.

Visit Carol’s  Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/IGrewUpCountry/. You’ll enjoy the memories shared there and perhaps be surprised at how familiar some of them are even if you didn’t ‘grow up country.’

Have you ever followed up on promising comments left on your blog? If so, share the results in the Comments. If you’ve never tried this idea, are you motivated now to check on some of your blog commenters?