What Am I, Chopped Liver?

I've mentioned before (but not enough) that I have a brother in law, in his 50's, with a developmental disability called autism.

This has impacted his life, the life of his parents (his mother, still alive, still cares for him in her 80's), the lives of his siblings, and the spouses of his siblings.  We continue to struggle with various issues, as his mother ages, and we found ourselves (my spouse and I) long distance caretakers of two.

I've wanted to tell his story (and ours), both past, present and future, and perhaps use my blog to network with people in similar situations.  So many autism blogs are written by parents of young children or even young adults, which is fine (more than fine - those voices deserve to be heard) but I don't know how many other are in my situation.  And, it is a complex situation. Those families with children, I hope, will have it better when their children grow up.

There's at least one support group for adult siblings of those with developmental disabilities, but, as far as I know, nothing for their spouses.  As we would say in my native New York City "what am I, chopped liver?"

So, onward to the 2013 WordCount Blogathon.  This blogathon requires, of its participants, 30 straight days of posting.  No days off.  No opportunities to catch up. There are some nice prizes the participants compete for.  There's a haiku day, a guest post day, and several other (all voluntary) theme days.

The 2011 WordCount Blogathon was the impetus for the growth of my blog.  The 2012 WordCount Blogathon got me onto Twitter.  I highly recommend you join in the fun and register for the 2013 WordCount Blogathon.

But I haven't signed up yet, and here's why.

I don't know if I want to start a new blog. Can I write enough material for 30 days?  Can I find myself blogging daily on two different blogs?  I work full time, and this would be a lot of stress.  (Even trying to figure out if I want to have blog #2 on a different platform, and if I want to have a second Twitter account, if I want to set up a new Facebook fan page - all stress.)

On the other hand, it would challenge me.  Since I've been blogging for over two years straight, there really isn't no challenge in just blogging daily.  There has to be more for me to continue my growth, and doing two blogs would be that challenge.

So, I will reach out to my readers.   What would give me the most benefit for the least amount of extra work?  Should I try the second blog and compete only with it? Should I try to compete with both blogs? Or should I be safe and just register this blog, the blog I've always competed with, and do the second blog on the side (perhaps linking my first blog to it in some way during the competition.)

I don't want to be chopped liver.  I don't want others in my shoes to be chopped liver.  I want our voices to be heard.