RTT: How Did I Get to This Place?

(RTT, by the way, is short for Random Thought Thursday . . .)

So I've been updating my blog with all kinds of "widgets" and links, images and "blogrolls" . . . And I am slightly amazed or amused or confused, definitely very surprised at my new hobby and I just wanted to take a moment to consider "How exactly did I get here?"

I believe it was April when my sister setup a MySpace page for me. Yes, it's something I've been keeping on the down low from many of you. I am no longer a member of the hip crowd and my own gut reaction five months ago was that I was much too young and what would I do on there anyway? Well, I was bitten and it's all been down hill from there . . .

I mainly use MySpace to keep in touch with former classmates (yes, Cheryl had a hand in getting me online as well)and I must admit that I have a lot of fun decorating "my space" with all kinds of cute, flashy icons and photos, quotes (of course), etc. I have also met a few interesting and genuine folk there I might not have encountered otherwise. We share interests in writing, politics (One "friend" titles his page Impeach Dubya) and music (Only on MySpace can I list U2, Pearl Jam and the Dave Matthews Band as "friends.")

So within days of setting up my page I began blogging on MySpace. But their blog component is quite simple and once I started surfing the vast land of blogs, some much better than others, I realized that I could do so much more and I was led to Blogger. (Again, thank you Cheryl!)

And now I can't seem to stop! I find new icons and interesting hit counters and web rings I want to join on the endless number of blogs I can surf. There is just so much out there and sometimes it's like zoning out to the weather channel - strangely hypnotic, yet completely engaging. I will agree that there is a LOT of junk, but I've found quite a few gems among the rough.

What has been the biggest surprise for me is the number of moms I've found online and they're blogging! I mean like crazy! Many share their reflections about what being a mother means or how it has changed who they are and some just share their daily routine mentioning what Jr. may have accomplished that day or what behavioral issue it perplexing them at the moment; Still others emphasize that they're more than mothers and like to blog about a wide range of topics. No matter what the topics I can't believe the sheer number of "Mommy Bloggers" I've come across in just a few short weeks. (I've listed quite a few of them on my links list if you want to check a couple of them out)

(This will all contribute to the novel I keep threatening to write, by the way ...)

Six months ago I was almost scared of the internet as far as the interactive component went . . . I didn't have any kind of technical savy whatsoever and I wasn't interested in acquiring any. But once I began to connect with other writers, my Writing in the Margins group moderator in particular, I realized that like TV the internet can be a very useful tool as long as it is not abused and not used to replace physical activity and direct human to human interactions.

So to answer the question at the top of this post: How? It's like a really rich piece of chocolate - you start out saying you're only going to have a small piece and before you know it you've devoured the entire box.

And somewhere between potty training, wrestling, action figure play and preschool I've found the time to learn a bit of HTML, web design and web surfing. Go figure.