Here I Am

I've blogged for several years now, in several different venues.

When I first started blogging, I used a pen name and kept it fairly anonymous, not sure if I wanted to broadcast my musings to the public at large. I have an irrational fondness for that hidden venue where I shared everything from my morning mood to recipes to political opinions. I was able to tell naughty jokes without worrying that someone would be offended or angry. I never had to worry about the repercussions of my voice on the folks I love. But it was also a security blanket of sorts.

Contrast that to a public venue such as Facebook. I have seen controversy and battles. I've been asked how I can be friends with "someone who thinks like that" and I've found myself in the middle of two or more friends when they disagreed. I've learned more about my neighbors than I thought I needed to know, and witnessed more than I felt I wanted to witness. I didn't want to feel awkward, but found myself knowing that they had a fight with their spouse, or were angry with their children, or had a falling out with another friend.

I tried to keep my anonymous voice separate from my known voice, but eventually there was crossover. There were folks I wanted to know better and in a more personal way, and before long, a lot of my "secret underground friends" were part of my public world.

I've decided that the dual world is difficult to navigate. Additionally, anonymity sometimes can be a safety net, but for others it can be insidious. Agendas are easier to keep hidden when you're anonymous. I've decided that I'm going to try to live out loud. I'm not going to blog anonymously anymore. The first step was to tell an off color joke in a place it may not go over.

Last night, at a church dinner, a bunch of us ladies got into a girl talk session about our body parts in the kitchen. We talked about gravity working on them, and about being too small or too large, we just were making silly girl talk. I told a joke. I said that my spouse gave me a handful of toilet tissue when I complained about having a small chest. I remarked that I was an adult and would NOT stuff my bra. He said I didn't have to stuff it, just rub it on my chest, since it worked so well on my behind.

The laughter was deafening. When it died down, the wife of a church leader asked, "And when is the funeral?"

Perhaps it's time for us to learn less about compartmentalizing and more about integration.

What about you? Do you have a private outlet?

Keeping Up

Thanks for the guest post by Jo Levy

Two weeks ago we had the most embarrassing thing happen. I went to drop off the kids at school on a Monday and there was no one there! Apparently I did not get a note and failed to look at the calendar the school provided at the beginning of the year and did not realize there was a school holiday! After talking to the teacher the next day I learned that there is a great calendar on the school website that lists this information and more. It sounds like we are going to need exede packages wild blue as soon as possible! I did not realize how much information we were missing out on from the school until the teacher showed me the website. In addition to the calendar there are educational ideas and activities we can do at home to help keep up with their classmates and important information about outside activities that are available in the community as well. I had no idea I was such an uninformed parent!

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The Waiting Game

As the days become longer and warmer, Spring is as close as our next thought. I'm itching to see things grow and bloom, but my gardening zone advises to wait until May to begin planting outdoors, once the threat of frost has passed. It's not easy being patient when the birds are singing, the sun is shining and the grass is greening.

I've been combing over seed and plant catalogs dreaming of my garden this year which in addition to vegetables and herbs will also have some companion flowers. Some will be for cut arrangements, but others to thwart the invasive insects who have designs to chomp the tender little seedlings. To assuage my impatience, flower deliver can bring the love of the outdoors and garden into my home without risking a gardening disaster.

It's worth the time to properly care for the plants and ensure a beautiful garden. Over the weekend, I did do some prep work, tilling the soil, mixing in a winter's worth of compost and gazing lovingly at the earth, waiting for the day I can put my seeds and seedlings in the ground for a season of growth.

Do you garden? What do you like to grow; flowers, vegetables or herbs?

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Bursting Into Song Randomly...

For newcomers, I confess I'm a huge fan of musical theater. I love the opportunity to suspend my belief that people burst into song randomly. In fact, I think the world would be hugely improved if we did!

It occurred to me to catalog the shows I've seen, some on Broadway, some in Community Theater, some on a High School stage, and even a few on television (though it really defeats the purpose of live theater, so that category has an asterisks).  I'm lucky enough to have children who love performing so some of the listed shows, I've seen multiple times.

I know I've missed some... but this is my somewhat inclusive list.

• Wizard of Oz*
• Godspell
• Man of La Mancha
• Guys and Dolls
• Damn Yankees
• Rent
• West Side Story*
• Annie Get your Gun
• My Fair Lady *
• Jesus Christ Superstar
• Big River
• Dreamgirls
• Chicago
• Caberet
• Jekyll and Hyde
• Oliver!
• Fiddler on the Roof
• Sound of Music
• Phantom of the Opera
• Les Miserables
• Anything Goes
• Bye Bye Birdie
• Once Upon a Mattress
• Seussical
• Hairspray
• Footloose
• Oklahoma
• The King & I*
• Gypsy
• In the Beginning
• Annie