August 25, 2006
Blogging
I have received multiple emails over the last few months from people who have been inspired by my friend, Sarah’s, blog. Not only, inspired by what she has written, but just the fact that she writes a blog. Apparently, blogging is somewhat contagious. Have you caught it? Do you want to?
My husband sent me a link to another friend’s blog a few weeks ago. I didn’t get around to reading it until 4:00 this morning. (I couldn’t sleep so I got caught up on a ton of old emails.) I was so inspired! Not only by what my friend, DeeDee, wrote but it was so good to feel connected with her and her family again.
Blogging is a wonderful opportunity for so many reasons. It is a terrific outlet for creativity. I am always blown away by Sarah’s writing talent and I’ve now discovered DeeDee’s gift, as well. You may think you don’t have any time to read blogs, much less, write one. I know; I feel the same way! But, take it from me, you really won’t look back and regret the time you spent cultivating relationships and blogging is one of the best ways to nurture friendships here in the 21st century.
Think of it, I have only had a chance to see my friend, DeeDee, and her family, a handful of times since they moved from California. It would be so easy to lose touch with these priceless friends. Now, every time I can’t sleep, I can catch up with her whole family.
As far as writing a blog yourself, let me just say this. If I had started writing my journal entries for “Coffee Talk” five years ago, I would have simply called it my “Blog!” Because, that is essentially what it is. Let me be honest for a minute. There is rarely a week that I “have time” to write. I make time for two reasons. One – you. I want to be dependable, I don’t want to be flakey. It is also hard for me to experience something, good or bad, without thinking about telling you all about it. For some reason, sharing my life with you, gives me the double pleasure – living it and reliving it with a friend.
I also blog for my children. If I didn’t have a commitment to journal every week, I wouldn’t do it. By having an appointment with you every Monday morning, it makes me disciplined to do something that I want to do, but I wouldn’t do on my own. I want my children to know about me and our life as a family when they grow up. I haven’t had time to scrapbook since February, but I can sit down at the computer once a week and pour out my thoughts for you and my kids.
I bet you have similar reasons that you might consider blogging. Do you have friends and family in another city? Do you have friends and family in the same city but you simply don’t have time to fill them in on your life and your reflections on your life! Would you like to have a record of your life today to share with your kids in the future? You don’t have to write a novel, or something deeply inspirational, or a comedic monologue. Just share your heart. You would be surprised how many people you will bless just by opening up your life for others to see.
I did a quick search on “Creating a Blog” for you, just in case, you might consider it, after reading this journal entry-slash-blog. I really don’t know anything about any of these sites but you can check them out and see if any might work for you.
www.Blogger.com
www.blogspot.com
www.wordpress.com
www.typepad.com
www.livejournal.com
Okay, I’m getting off of my soap box now. Before I leave, I would like to share one of my favorite blog entries of DeeDee. Enjoy.
I love aquariums. We had one when I was a kid and my two favorite fish were the angelfish, Angela and Timothy. I would spend hours just staring into that tank of peaceful serenity. That is, until Angela ate Timothy.
Still my love of all things aquatic continued into my teen years when I had my very own aquarium in my very own room. My hopes of one day becoming a Marine Biologist were dashed when I came home from school and discovered that my fish had been murdered. I was the prime suspect. It seems that I had forgotten to turn off the heater in the tank before I left that morning, thusly boiling all but one, a calico goldfish that was henceforth known as “Hotdog”. He then relocated to a large fishbowl on the kitchen counter for the next couple of years, where he happily lived out the remainder of his days, minus a few scales.
Throughout most of my adult life, I’ve had aquariums. I was skittish about keeping one in Los Angeles; however, what with the earthquakes and all. So, my husband promised me that when I moved to Florida, I would have an aquarium, and a nice tan. I still have no tan, but I do have an aquarium. She’s a 37 gallon beauty filled with hardy tropical fish, in other words, the kind that are hard to kill.
So, a couple of weeks ago, Emme (my 6 year old) bounces into the room all excited, “Mommy, one of our fish is dancing…he’s going upside down and everything!”. That can’t be good. Sure enough, my 4 year old orange serpae tetra was going belly up. When he wasn’t floating at the top, he was getting stuck against the filter. Now, I’m no expert, but something told me that this fish was a goner. So, for the sake of the 6 year old, I set up the “infirmary bowl” and plopped him in. The next day he’s not quite dead yet, but close. I just don’t get around to flushing him. That night, all sheepish, Emme tells me she has something she must confess. “Mommy, I think I touched the fish.” Pause. ” Welllllll”, she continues, “I didn’t just touch him, I might have squeezed him a little”. After I make her wash her hands, I give her a stern lecture on not touching dead fish and send her to bed. The next morning I prepare to give the fish a burial at sea before anyone awakens. Imagine my surprise when I see my feisty little fish, swimming around with not a care in the world.
So, I keep the fish in the infirmary bowl for a while longer on the bar over the sink, because I haven’t seen him eat or poop (both are important in the fish world…well, in any world I reckon). I feed him a little and stand at the sink washing dishes, watching him for about 5 minutes. Then, without warning, he LEAPS HIGH out of the bowl, and right into the sink’s garbage disposal, which is on, of course. Immobilized, I stare down into the insinkerator, thinking how in the world am I going to save this fish, without losing a finger? And how gross is this going to be? I decide to pretend it never happened (a coping technique I’ve perfected over the years), but then I think about the ensuing stench in my kitchen. Then, from out of nowhere, I see him wiggle out from behind the sponge cup on the sink rim. I catch him before he really does go down the drain and chuck him back in the bowl….and cover it with a heavy dish. I said to Tom that I should name him “Lucky”. He counters with, “Or Stoooopid”. Anyway, eventually Lucky rejoined his fish friends back in the aquarium, where he’s doing just dandy, bragging about his daring adventures.
I’ve always thought that my Emme was an anointed child. So, perhaps my little mini-faith healer has the gift of “laying on of hands”, or fingers as it were. Which is just fine with me, as long as she remembers to wash afterwards.
To enjoy more of DeeDee’sBlog, click on the link
Posted by weblion at 07:40 PM
