The Next Day

Here I am on day 2 of my ventures into writing... so now what.

I spent the better part of my afternoon yesterday and today wondering what aspects of my life are bloggable. Is bowling with my kids blog worthy? How about the raccoons gettin' it on in my backyard while my boys wonder why those 2 raccoons keep fighting? Or perhaps I could go more eclectic and write about the McDonalds sign that I pass daily; and that they're at last updating the sign so the "billions served" counter that's read 99 for well over a decade is at last retiring it's pathetic attempt to count the burgers passing out its doors and is acquiescing to the standard "billions and billions served".

When faced with the vast potential and creative chasm of the blank page I admit I am intimidated. There are so many amazing blogs out there discussing the relevant themes of our times: human rights, the environment, imperialism. Well written words waxing on pop culture, movies, books, music and life. And those wonderfully kitschy blogs that obsess on the minutia of the world around us; one of my personal favourites is a blog where people send in pictures of objects in daily life that look like human faces :-). How do I find my voice in this cacophony of digital chatter? Does what I have to say really matter? I guess I'm experiencing that pre-party fear that so commonly comes over us 5 minutes before the first guest arrives, what if I throw a party and no body comes?

So here I sit at my computer, the noise of children in the background and a sleeping babe on my lap, sipping stale coffee that had been lovingly ground and perked by my bleary eyed husband too early this morning, pondering my blogging beginnings. And hoping that somebody comes to my party.

3 Reasons to Start a Blog

1. Since early childhood I've had aspirations of becoming a writer. Throughout my youth, I fantasized about the day I was going to live abroad in Europe, moving from torrid affair to disastrous relationship with gleeful morbidity. Writing novels and poetry punctuated with coffee, wine and cigarettes from romantic sidewalk cafes. Oh, it was going to be so depressingly grand!

At the time, I assumed my thirties were going to be spent in the final throws of passion as I would at last find my sweet, gentle and understanding partner and cast off my wild ways for domestic bliss and a few impressive literary prizes; perhaps a teaching position at a Liberal Arts college.

I’m in my thirties now and my life wandered a different path. My sweet, gentle and understanding partner showed up way earlier than expected, so I married young. My husband and I spent our twenties dabbling in school, travel, work and we both pretty much compromised the crap out of our dreams for reasons that appeared valid at the time but now seem like lame excuses. I never became the writer I had fantasized about, but there's no reason I can't make some slight edits and begin now. So here I am, happily married with 3 small children, setting out into the world as a would-be writer; using this blog as an opportunity to refine my skills. My first steps are just a lot less tragically glamorous than I had imagined at 13. Not as torrid, but why not as exciting?

2. I need something in my life that doesn’t involve driving, cleaning or making warped leaps of parental logic.

3. I think the first 2 reasons are reason enough...