Why Blog?

I've always worn my heart on my sleeve. These days, that sleeve is usually covered in snot.

I like to describe my life as a perpetual state of beautiful chaos. I have three little boys. My home is loud, messy and welcoming. Playing, fighting, wrestling, building, singing, crying, laughing, dancing, painting, eating, and a little bit of sleeping fill our days.

And as crazy as we may appear, my children have actually slowed down my pace of life. They create a space that is full of energy and love and creativity. And in that space, in the center of all the chaos, I find myself having some clarity.

But why put it out there on the internet for the world to see? Well, it's a little exercise I'm trying. Sort of a calisthenic. For the mind.

For the last few years, most of the writing I have done has been academic (my masters thesis, for example) or for my job as a science writer.

I loved my job. I wrote for a nationally broadcast science and environmental radio program. I had the privilege of interviewing some of the world's top scientists and experts in fascinating fields, and then translating their research into stories that were interesting and understandable for the general public. (It was always a thrill to see one of the scientists I interviewed on a PBS special or to hear them on NPR. I'd think, I just talked to that guy on the phone last month! Cool!)

I enjoyed writing about science and helping people dial in to the amazing discoveries that are being made across the planet. And after that job ended and I had my second child, I continued to freelance as a science writer.

But it's been a while since I've written. I had my third baby five months ago. And these days, I'm feeling the need to take a break from writing about other people's research and to go out on a limb.

I want to write about this time in my life. What I'm learning, how I'm feeling, about the experience and identity of motherhood, about family dynamics, raising children, holding them close, letting them go.

I have some ideas I'd like to pitch to magazines or to submit to various anthologies, and I'm hoping that this blog will give me a space to find my voice. To help me get comfortable and confident telling my own stories. To generate ideas that I can develop into something more polished in the future. And maybe even to create a space to share stories that will touch other people and generate discussion about some of the issues we struggle with as mothers, women, or just plain old humans.

So, I'll continue to wear my heart on my sleeve and put it out there on the internet for all to see.

Snot and all.