Getting my blog on

I have entertained the idea of starting a blog for a while now. Not because I think I have something particularly profound to say or share, but mostly because... I started watching too much tv. Really. Ask my husband. It started with Wednesday nights on the couch shouting at the tv while watching America's Next Top Model with my bestie, which turned out to be a gateway drug to all other "suck out your brain" television (i.e. The Bachelor, Gossip Girl, and I even stayed up late to watch a few episodes of that show Conveyor Belt of Love... it was pretty bad). We knew my newfound love of 'pop culture' was getting out of hand when I started checking for 'spoilers' on the internet and the "Us magazine" website came up as 'favorite places' on our laptop. Oops.

I tried to defend my time spent in this arena as "staying relevant" and "in touch" with the media and pop culture that my students are talking about. Yeah, I don't actually think my second graders are talking about who Jake picked on the finale on the Bachelor (it was Vienna, by the way). Foiled!

And so the other day I spent the evening with a cup of tea perusing my lovely friend Andrea's blog (who is currently in New Zealand) and something miraculous started to happen... reading her thoughts got me thinking... and laughing... and a little teary eyed... I even had some ah-ha! and "good point" moments... and the wheels of inspiration in this rusty brain of mine started turning again. I started having conversations with myself that reminded me of those late night talks in the halls of my dorm in college. And I found that I missed it. I missed thinking and questioning and even philosophizing to some extent (but not too much...). I thought, ok just because life becomes a routine (and a tired & stressful one at that sometimes) doesn't mean you should turn off that voice inside and retire to the couch.

And so, blogging I will try. I will probably still watch some tv (especially the Bachelor) but hopefully not as much, because I will be too busy thinking about stuff that matters... and probably sometimes stuff that doesn't. I figure, even the only person who reads my blog is my Mom (I love you Mom), there is something to be said for putting your thoughts down on paper. I mean, it worked for Doogie.