Origins

Hi! You are reading this because I invited you to, or by some randomness you found me whilst surfing the net. Either way, I want to start by thanking you for even reading. Hopefully it will be worth your while.

About 7 years ago I distinctly remember a conversation I had with another mom. It went something like this:

Perfect Mom: So do you have an email account?

Me: Yes, it's xyz@somethinorother.com I'd love to keep in touch!

Perfect Mom: Well, I'm not one of THOSE women who surf the net all day long.

Me: Uh..yeah, no, me neither (feeling instantly guilty for even having an email account that I *gasp* check more than one time a day).

And for several years after that encounter, I had a mixture of feelings regarding the internet and my relationship with it. Part of me wanted to embrace every new technology and become a blogging, surfing, netting Queen. Part of me wanted to completely ban the net in our house and become faux Amish. In fact, we have had months at a time with no media influence whatsoever. This usually happens when we get so sick of the pull that we abolish it all and clear our collective family head. It's refreshing, and hey, it saves lots of money. But ultimately, I don't think I could say I'm the type of person who rejects the very notion of surfing the net or using the computer. All in moderation, as they say.

So maybe I am one of those women, whoever that is. I mean, if my Grandmother can effectively email and communicate and learn from the net (Grandma, you inspire me!), then I am certainly not going to let the years and technology pass me by without utilizing them to the fullest extent.

This leads me to where I am today.

Hopefully, somewhere in the future-perhaps ten years from now-I'll have filled this blog with all sorts of pontifications and stories and pictures and wonderful tales from our family, and look back to where it all began. That would be here. That would be *right now*. Let me pause for this momentous occasion...

Okay, now that I've given it the proper pregnant pause, let's begin. Why blog now? It's been quite a few years since blogging took over the world wide web and people started publishing and writing and communicating in this "Information Age." It's surprising that it's taken me this long to jump on the bandwagon. I mean I *am* a communication minor, former collegiate debater, and regular *ahem* discusser with my hubby. This blogging thing is right up my alley. It's practically tailor made for someone like me. And yet, here it is 2008 and I am just now starting. Why is this so?

The reasons are many.

Firstly, I've been having and raising four beautiful children. It's sort of busy around here and I never really got around to thinking about seriously starting a blog. Secondly, I'm a bit chicken about blogging and clicking and POOF! the whole world knows my thoughts. Yikes. What if I say something dumb (that's pretty much a given)....what if I over share (typical female activity)....what if I start it and then get too busy to keep it going, and end up committing blogger suicide? Up until now, I have wondered what it's like to blog, but never taken the leap of faith and started one.

Then it hit me. This would be a wonderful way for my family and friends to keep up with us. I'm admittedly terrible at email updates (mainly because I never have the right email addy or current one) and since we have no relatives anywhere close to us....well, that got me thinking. And thinking. And wondering if I should just bite the bullet and do it. Then, as I usually and painstakingly do, I laid out my whole case to my poor husband. I shared all the pros and cons, fears and exciting thoughts. After listening to me for a good 30 minutes straight and in his typical efficient manor, Jason said, "Just start the blog."

That settled it.

So here we are....embarking on a truly exciting adventure (I know it's thousands of times more exciting for me, but I'm pretending you are mutually excited). I now have 879,923,098 blog posts to catch up on, so buckle up and get ready for the ride. It might be bumpy....