Let’s get this out of the way.  I don’t know who wrote chapters 1 – 13 but I know they are there and I had to start somewhere.  No doubt there are infinitely more…but I digress.

Recently a friend told a story of finding an old photo.  It was taken at a princess party; a party the friend gave for her two small daughters.  The girls, now adults, were dressed as a Disney princess and a cartoon character respectively, and the friend and her sister had donned old prom dresses to join in the moment.  It was so long ago, the girls don’t even remember and the friend’s observation was, ‘I can’t believe I wore a dress with a giant bow on my ass to the prom’.

Fast forward to the Mars and Venus part of the story.  Any woman hearing this would understand that the important parts of this story are: a) a mother and an aunt going the extra mile to dress up to give a party to two girls who will never remember it, and b) another woman has experienced the ‘aha’ moment when she sees herself in an outfit she originally felt was smokin’ hot only to realize she had a giant bow on her ass.  But in a man’s world, these elements are lost forever…conversation as follows:

Wife: “So, talked to my friend X today and she told me she found a picture of her and her sister at the princess party she gave for her girls.  The girls don’t remember and she can’t believe she is in a picture wearing a dress with a giant bow on her ass.”

Husband: “Wow, most women can’t fit into their prom dresses.”

Wife: “Yeah, well I guess she did, but she couldn’t believe the picture she found.”

Husband: “How many years after the prom was this?”

Wife: “I don’t know…who cares…she wasn’t talking about prom. It was the picture of her with her girls in princess dresses and her dress with the bow on her ass.”

Husband:  “That doesn’t happen very often.”

Wife: “What?”

Husband: “That women fit in to their prom dresses.”

Wife: “That’s not the point!  She didn’t call to tell me the dress fit.  It obviously fit because she was wearing it.  Why are you fixated on this?  It’s about the princess party and what she wore to be a part of it with her daughters.”

Husband: “Exactly!  She wore a prom dress most people couldn’t fit into after they had children.”

Wife: “NO! She wore a dress with a giant bow on the ass so her daughters could have their princess party! ” Then, walking away, “Never mind…”

Husband: Muttering as he retreats to the other room, “I wonder how many women even keep their prom dress, I mean, it will never fit.”

And the mystery of Mars, Venus, and what makes each of us tick continues….

A recent conversation with a friend got me thinking about blogging.  What gives any of us the idea that what we think or how we feel about things is of interest to anyone but ourselves?

Of course, the beauty of most blogs is that one must go to them, they rarely come to you and if the subject is of no interest to you as a reader you can immediately opt out of the read.  But as a matter of course do most of us want to read about the writer’s recent trip to Rock and Jump with her two toddlers, or the latest road rage incident on the last foray to Trader Joe’s?  I suppose if you are in a Mommy and Me group there would be an appeal but where I’m going with this is that I want to read a blog that is interesting or thought-provoking or funny or all of the afore-mentioned and is of interest to more than a select group.

Often these goals are more easily written of than acheived but what I am sure of is that any blog of mine will not be limited to one, or even a handful of subjects.  All my life if something has been on my mind it has likely manifested itself as the written word eventually, and my promise to anyone choosing to read here is that you never know what you will find.  Visit when you feel like it, read what you choose, and comment if compelled.  I love the power of the written word and the writing process and I promise, no “what I did today” entries.

Yes, maybe it was the title of a Todd Rungren song, but also the three words that come to mind as I embark on this new adventure.  I believed I was done challenging myself, testing my limits and finding myself again and again outside my comfort zone but I was dead wrong.  I look forward to my new world and all the surprises it holds for me.  As I reinvent my place here once again, all I can say is…hello, it’s me.