A Tribute to Bloggers

This is my first foray into the blogging world. It has taken a year of slow and gradual obsession with a variety of blogs to make me realize that I too, wanted to be a part of this party. It all began with my pregnancy, back in the summer of 2005. Babycenter was "the" place to go for a week-by-week developmental description of the wee little bean that was growing inside of me. I found myself reading Mommy discussions on the chat room,(without ever joining), and learned of the most awesome hilarious must-be-read labor and delivery story. This linked me to Dooce and her archives of the before and after of parenthood. I became addicted to her wit, laughing hysterically at my screen and forcing my husband, Daniel, to listen to me read entry after entry. Heather, you and your family have become a part of my almost daily ritual. I sooooo look forward to reading your monthly newsletters to your daughter, Leta, that never fail to choke me up. I now have my own sweet little girl, and am in constant awe at this little being who has wreaked havoc in my life, but undoubtedly for the better. Through your website, I found myself linked to a whole world of parenting blogs that allow me to commiserate, laughing and crying about poop, no sleep, no sex, and how RAD we all are. (Did I actually just use the word rad? - circa 1984, THE Valley)
Anyhow, I have to give props to the following blog addictions, which were preceded by Dooce, but equally relevant:
Laid-Off-Dad - I first found your blog when you described your apartment and the decision to give up your big room for Robert and TwoBert. My husband and I had come to a similar conclusion about our living space. We had decided that our office, barely the size of a walk-in closet, could no longer be. The effects of having Stella in our bedroom were debilitating. We needed her out of our room, and fast, if we were ever going to sleep again, let alone recognize our hibernating genitalia. We work from home, so giving up what little private office space we had, and moving our computers into the living room so that Stella could have a nursery, was a hard pill to swallow. We were in the midst of apartment chaos, simultaneous with your move, which was utterly relateable. In fact, months later and our living room is still littered with bags of crap and clothes that couldn't possible fit in a New York apartment. Thank you for encapsulating the experience of shifting space. Your account really exemplified the various levels of discomfort we are willing to withstand for the happiness of our children, and thus our own mental health!
Mr.Nice Guy - I'm in Park Slope Brookyn, just like you, and the dreaded Amy Sohn. Wow! When you socked that literary punch to that yappy chihuahua of a woman who bemoaned the so-called sorry set of stay-at-home moms I was cheering right behind you. How dare she suggest that any child, who has a Mother taking full-time care of her/him, will be irreparably damaged? How dare she suggest that a woman who takes on this full-time caregiver role is somehow shortchanging herself and destined to be as boring as a brick in the wall? You are a Brooklyn god for taking her repeatedly to task in your very public blog. I hope to one day meet you in the totlot, as I am sure we will have more to discuss than how many teeth our babes have and how quickly they learned to crawl or walk. I give you many bended-back bows.
Finslippy - Your love of Brooklyn reminds me again and again how wonderful this place is. I don't know if it will always be home to me,(I'm originally from California) but I love it here. Daniel and I have weekly, if not daily discussions about where we should move in order to have a real house, a lawn unto our own, more than 2 dinky bedrooms, a ground level dwelling (as opposed to being on the top floor of a 4-level walk-up brownstone), our own washer and dryer, a fireplace, and lots of closets! When I read about how hard the adjustment to Suburbia can be it scares me. If we moved to a less metropolitan city = anywhere else, would we end up lost and broken, clawing and crawling our way back to urban culture?

My final blog ode, and the sweetest of them all, is to Sweet Juniper! I LOVE YOU GUYS! Daniel's family is from Detroit, and Dutch and Wood make me want to move there and sit on a back porch on a balmy night, sipping beer and watching the fireflies. Our little girls are a year apart, but I feel sure in my heart that Juniper would take Stella under her wing, and might even let her gum Addie. Is it creepy how much I know about you all? - I hope not. I think this can be what is beautiful about blog intimacy - this sense of family and 'knowing each other' that is much richer than reading celebrity gossip in US or Hello! I honestly feel a kinship with you both on many levels. First, Daniel and I used to live in San Francisco; it is where we met and fell in love. Of course, those days of singledom were very different with our social life revolving around bars, restaurants and live music. Having a baby makes concert-going infrequent, but something tells me we might have run into each at the Great American Music Hall, Bottom of the Hill, or Bimbo's, because our eclectic music tastes are very similar. I am flooded by memories when I read your apt descriptions of 'Frisco', and it's shitty weather, lurching and vomit-inducing MUNI rides, the homeless trustfund kids and feral drummers in Golden Gate Park and the dot.com hipsters with their messenger bags. Daniel and I are obsessed with traveling, so I definitely appreciate your worldly experience. It is not only our job, we work for an internet travel company, but it is most definitely our passion. It seems that the both of you have a real respect for other cultures, as evidenced by your time living abroad. Dutch, I too, lived in Dublin, Ireland for a year, and can hear that Irish twang you so aptly captured in your Doolin story. Wood, you are an awesome mother. I am nursing my baby, Stella, and have been holding her just that little bit tighter since reading your blog about the denouement of the booboob. Thank you for inviting us to take a peek into your life - it has been an utter joy.
That sentiment goes out to all the people who write a public diary and touch me with their words and feeling. I can only hope to have the same effect. I'm sure this will be an evolving experiment. The blog before you is no indication of what will come...only the seed.