Blogging.

What's up with that?

Why do those who do it, do so wholeheartedly, at times unveiling thoughts that would rarely, if ever, be spoken aloud?

And when asked about it, excitedly explain about carnivals and memes, blog friends and blogrolls, learning (or trying to...!) a new language (html), trackbacks, comments and links, blog traffic and hit counters, buttons and blinkies and more. While the listener is sitting there, eyes glazing over, nodding politely but inwardly thinking, "This person is OBSESSED!"

Hehe, yeah, we know. And we don't care.

For those who blog, it's a creative outlet. After reading through the Blogging Chicks "Favorites" Carnival, I discovered the majority of those who write also love to read. Many of us don't have a "professional" forum, so this is it. We can complete our thoughts here, explore them, laugh out loud, think with others. It hasn't happened here much, but I really appreciate a thoughtful response to those deeper posts; Janice from 5 Minutes for Mom meandered through my archives and picked up a post I had written long before I gave out my link to anyone. Although my posts are often on the light side, when I slow down and become contemplative, a like response is very encouraging (even if the commentor doesn't agree with me).

We don't limit ourselves to just writing, though. As we progress, we enter the lives of other bloggers and a relationship may be born. Not always, just sometimes. But when you find a "blog kindred", you just know it. My friends IRL don't blog, so I'm thankful for my virtual friends who enjoy this ride with me. It's a similar investment in relationship because it does require time to develop, and it's a much slower evolution, but it's "real" nevertheless.

Quite unexpectedly, I have found blogging to be VERY educational. I posted on that recently, but silliness aside, learning is a by-product I didn't anticipate. How many of you woke up one day and realized you'd "been asleep at the wheel"? Have you ever said or had a thought that goes something like "I used to be smart and then I had kids and my brains got sucked out in the process..."? OF COURSE, I realize everything on the 'net is not accurate and has its own bias, and that bloggers are merely expousing their own opinions or agenda. That being said, they've raised the bar for me :). Many bloggers have challenged me to think--sometimes about things I've never before considered or known about, but also driving me closer to God, as I've sought what HE thinks about whatever is the issue-du-jour.

Michele, by example, has taught me to be generous in what I'm learning. She's a model of patience, thoughtfulness and intelligence. An "exchange I had with another blogger over at Paradoxology forced me to exercise restraint (from sarcasm) and to find "a better way" to express my thought; although I felt like I had major mud on my face, it was fun to play it out to the end. Gosh, there are others I wanna mention here, but I think I'll stop before I start, since that list would be all over the place, lol. Suffice it to say, I'm enjoying spending time with you, and by "you" that could mean just about anyone in the blogosphere (loving the chicks, especially those who visit me regularly--you know who they are by their comments;) ).

Much to love about blogging...I'm sure if you're reading, you feel much the same even if you'd find another way to express it.


BTW, if you like the graphic I used above, you can buy the tee shirt here. Tell David I sentcha; he'll have NO idea who I am, :)!