Blog Notes Part Deux

In fairness to my dad, of whom I made fun in my last post, I do understand that people have varying levels of privacy with which they are comfortable, and my openness may have been a bit too, too for my dad. (A shout out to my husband, who pointed out he has similar issues about privacy. Uh-oh, I married my dad). And, in this case, I think gender probably has something to do with it. While most women of my generation--or close thereto--have commented on how funny and on-target my bra post was, I think most men don't get the need to talk about it, in much the same way they don't understand the excitement about the bra itself. I suspect that with women, we relate to our bras and breasts in a different and more multi-faceted way than men do. Okay, that's probably stating the obvious. But with us, our breast are rather more of a pedestrian thing--yes we are concerned about sexual attractiveness--but that is not the sole way we think about our assets. We also think of them as a source of nutrition for our babies, and then there is simply the chore of dealing with them on a daily basis--not just in terms of looks but also in terms of comfort and maintenance. (Doing the monthly breast cancer check is hardly the stuff of romance. More like the stuff of abject terror.) Hey, they're a part of our body--and in the end we don't tend to idealize them the way men do, and, for many women, at least, they most certainly are not all about sexuality. That's just one component. (At least once we're past our teen years). As such, for many of us (again--I wouldn't deign to speak for all women), we probably treat and view our breasts with more irreverance and, at times, indifference than men would. Now this is not to say that this part of our anatomy is not important to us as women, but, as a part of our bodies, the mammaries simply are demystified. Trust me, I wouldn't be writing about somebody's male parts in the same way I would my own body parts. I was going to say that men probably don't think of their organs primarily in a sexual way--but then I realized that was just stupid!

Okay, enough anatomy. . . . back to blogging thoughts. . . .

My mom's initial reaction to my blog--before having read it, mind you--was to tell me that I should be writing as a profession, to make money.

Hold on a sec, wait, what's that sound????

Oh, yesssss, that's the sound of all the writers who are much more talented and serious than I am howling, HOWLING with laughter.

A couple of my friends had concerns with the blog that had nothing to do with the blog itself, but with my self-description. While I'm flattered that you guys care so much AND take me so seriously, I want to say: MY TONGUE= FIRMLY PLANTED IN CHEEK. I was just trying for a wee bit humor. So, to those of you who were worried that I wasn't living my life, but waiting for it to begin--no, I'm fully aware that my life is happening now and I'm enjoying it and living it as best I can. I'm merely trying to figure out what else I'd like it to include. That is, in fact, one of the reasons I began to blog. And, as with all of us, some days are better than others.

As for those of you who are concerned about my self-image as an underachiever, well, perception of underachievement is relative. If you knew who some of my law school classmates were (and some of you do), you'd understand why I might somewhat jokingly refer to myself as an underachiever. But I wouldn't worry too much about that either. I'm working toward the life I want to live, and that's good enough for me. (Thank god for therapy, no??)

I also remind anyone with concerns about the larger ramifications of "putting myself out there" that I have an audience of maybe 5 people--and that's being generous. Hard to see how much damage that can do.

So, it has become clear, early on, that some of the stuff I write about here will offend or worry some folks. I guess that's to be expected--nature of the beast, and all. But please know, there are times when I'm just trying to elicit a chuckle. And please do take everything with a grain of salt. I'm a firm believer in poetic license.

Final comment: This is who I am--take it or leave it.