C: Examination of Life

One the blogs I have followed and enjoyed these two years since V got me hooked on this blogging thing is “Rue’s Peanut Butter and Jelly Life.”  I was sad to see Rue close down her site this month, and I will miss voyeurism into her life—hearing about her projects and about Rich and the kids.  See, I get attached to you guys.

Rue has left the public realm, going to an invitation-only site.  She didn’t just leave us—she posted a “good-by,” giving us an explanation, which I appreciated.  Otherwise it would have been leaving friends abruptly, without a proper leave-taking….unthinkable. 

Rue said some things in her “good by” to us that made me think….and you know how I love to overthink.

She has been disillusioned somehow by some of her fellow bloggers, something I’ve not experienced, thankfully.  But one of the things that struck me most was her comments to the effect that she was tired of going around life thinking of how every little thing might make a post.  (I paraphrase, here).

If Rue is tired of that, then I agree that it is time for her to end her public blogging.

I’m wondering if I will ever reach that point.  Right now I, too, think of posts several times throughout the day.  Just yesterday I whipped out my camera on the courthouse sidewalk to snap a shot for a future post.  (Trust me, it is only since I was blogging that a camera resides in my purse).   I need to be wearing this T-shirt—all the time.

Oh, I have my dry spells, like anyone, but generally I don’t have any trouble having something to say; just call me a blabbermouth.  My brother has cautioned me that, really, I risk boring folks, that somehow I have an over-inflated ego to think others really care about what I have to say.  My response: the beauty of blogging is that they don’t have to stick a post out.  If it’s boring, just click off.  No obligation.  There are no captive audiences.

Blogging? I’m loving it, as I know you can all tell; and overthinker that I am, here are some of the reasons why:

For one thing I can “hold the floor” in my blog.  I get to have my say completely and fully without interruption!  What fun!  What ego!  You guys are so patient with me.

I’ve already mentioned the therapeutic aspect of blogging.  Fellow bloggers have saved me thousands of Dollars in that regard.

I love the connection.  I see my blogger friends as a community for me.  Like I did with Rue’s life, I have learned a lot about yours, too, and I love keeping up with it.

But one of the things I love most about blogging is the examination of my life that it causes.  I love it that the small, insignificant detail can blossom into something more significant as I write.  I can begin to write about something little and mundane and suddenly find within it something that I, myself, need to  read.  It is like there is a third person there saying, “C, pay attention to this aspect of your life.”

I never know where a post is really going to take me.  In the process of writing about my chosen subject, it is like I’m mining through the rocks of everyday life rubble and coming up with gems that have been lying underneath.

And those little hidden revelations are all part of what therapy is about, aren’t they?  (Amazing what lurks underneath our surfaces.)

My last post on porches is an example.  I really, really started out to just tell you folks how much I enjoyed sitting outside on my porch the other evening.  I did that, I think, but the post turned into something else for me.  It turned into an examination of community in today’s society and a celebration of my wonderful neighbors.  I value the emphasis that post gave me on those subjects.

And, really, I cannot imagine ever growing tired of this.  I mean, what I feel like, to the contrary, is that there is no going back.  Time will tell, won’t it?

But for now, know that I value you--all of you.  I live for your comments (yes, egotistic, I know) and I love to hear about your travails and your daily life.

So keep in touch… C