Why Blog?

I used to think blogs were goofy; I mean, who cares about what Joe or Josephina Schmoe or anyone else out there thinks about anything? I thought bloggers were just lonely, dysfunctional people with nothing better to do, or extremist types who were using the internet to spew their venom (I respectfully exclude Arianna Huffington from either group...I've always liked her blog). Furthermore, who could possibly care what I have to say about anything?

Shame on me.

I've found there are lots of blogs out there that have good information...many of them I've listed on my front page. I think you have to be careful...there are a lot of good and not-so-good motives for blogging; but being a discerning and reasonably intelligent person, I think the blogs I've been reading have been well worth the time I spend on them.

Take Navel Gazing Midwife for instance; the stories she shares renew my faith that we can find a way to make birth less clinical and more woman-centered; that women will stop being afraid of the awesome power of their bodies and celebrate, rather than shrink from that power. Barb is willing to talk about when she changes her opinion on a belief, based on life experiences that have matured her...even when those experiences have been born of her own mistakes and misconceptions. She's willing to share her anger and her joy, literally pour her heart out about her feelings about her experiences...and I identify with so much of what she says that I feel validated about my own feelings...i.e., there are women out there, women of more experience, that feel the way I do...I'm not crazy after all (neurotic, somewhat...crazy, no).

The writer of At Your Cervix amazes me; she is willing to share such personal things about herself...her weight, her decision making process about turning to weight loss surgery, and her subsequent success after that surgery; she posts pictures of herself...I'm not ready to put myself out there that far yet, but I appreciate her being able to...it's encouraging for a woman who also struggles with obesity; I love to read what she writes about her experiences as a Labor and Delivery Nurse...particularly her cynical but humorous accounts of patients with their myriad of silly complaints, the abuses of the public system (taking ambulances to the hospital for little things like a cold, when a friend or neighbor was available to take them but just didn't feel like it for whatever reason), inappropriate behaviors (why, oh why do people bring dozens of people with them to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning, including sleep-deprived toddlers who are unsupervised and into all sorts of places they shouldn't be?), outrageous expectations (no, we aren't going to pay for your cab-fare home, and no, we don't provide free meals to your family), and amazing ignorance about what is happening to them (no, you can't get pregnant again if you're already pregnant!!!). She tells stories of women and families that are bringing children into the world under painful circumstances (teen mothers, addictions, abuse, crushing poverty). Again, she validates my frustration; but for every nut-job out there there is a woman or family who do not abuse the system, who do behave appropriately, whose expectations are realistic, and who will provide a loving, secure home for their child; At Your Cervix shares some of the most heartwarming stories of them, and how she served them (as well as the not-so-lovable patients). She inspires me to be the best nurse I can; and isn't the title of her blog the funniest play on worlds? Hilariously creative!

Midwife With a Knife helps me understand the reasons why obstetricians make some of the decisions they do...she shares a lot of the medical knowledge she has. Sometimes something she writes about piques my interest and I head out to the medical library at the university to get more information about the topic.She shares the thoughts of a woman getting through residency, and helps me understand what residents are up against; I still get frustrated about some of the things I see out of the residents I work with, but more and more, thanks to MWWAK, I realize that I don't always have all the information I think I do when I pass judgement on a particular behavior or decision by a resident; MWWAK has helped me learn.

My friend C's blog is sort of like a journal...I imagine my blog will serve that purpose for me as well. Things that C might not say out loud she puts on her blog...and I learn more about who she is and what drives her. My guess is that that C is learning the same thing, just from organizing her thoughts and writing them down in a tangible place...and I'm pretty certain that I will do the same thing. Again, just like the other bloggers I read, I'm amazed, and grateful for how C puts herself out there. She, like most of the other bloggers I read, places quotes, pictures, music and other downloads on her blog, and I want to do that eventually as well. Already in building this site, I've learned things about manipulating my computer that I didn't know before...and I'm looking forward to learning more

It looks like blogging can be a way of meeting and communicating with others who share my beliefs and passions...and that is always fun, and often life-enriching. Amazingly enough, someone far away from where I live has found my blog and left a lovely comment (I'm so excited; my first comment!!!). Several years ago I stumbled on a site on the internet where women with similar interests shared their experiences with each other. Over the years we've become a real community. I've talked to several of my internet friends over the phone, corresponded with several of them privately, rejoiced with them when children were born or adopted, wept with them with shared disappointments, got into some pretty heated (but ultimately respectful) disagreements with them, encouraged and been encouraged by them when things were tough for one of us; I get a kick out of "talking" with women from all over the world. I wouldn't stop logging into that site for anything; and now I have another way to meet people. I'm enough of a cynic to know I have to be careful; you never truly know who is on the other side of those communications...unseen to whoever is reading your posts, a person can make themselves out to be anything they want to be; but over time, you can, if you are cautious and judicious, pretty well determine who is genuine and who is not. Interesting world we live in, isn't it? It seems that nearly as much communication is happening over the internet with people we've never seen, as with friends, coworkers, neighbors and aquaintances in a face-to face encounter.

So I decided to start a blog myself; If I've nothing of value to say to anyone else, It will be of value to me; already I've busted that writing block wide open, and I seem to feel more energetic about other parts of my life as a result. This is a release for me. I think it's a good thing.

Did I say in my last post I was going to be more succinct in the future? Guess I'll have to work on that. Looks like I also need to work on those run-on sentences!