Everything I Like Causes Cancer

This is typically where and when you would find “Survivor Chat”, but as I said earlier today, this has been one of those weeks where there just isn’t enough time to get it all done. I didn’t get home last night until 8:30 and spent what was left of my evening reading all of the anony-posts (thanks 3carnations for the new word!) and leaving comments. I have not abandoned this week’s Chat - it has only been postponed until Saturday because I really want to talk about Blog Share. Come back tomorrow for the dish.

First I want to thank -R- from And You Know What Else for conceiving and giving birth to Blog Share. It was fantastic. By founding this project, -R- gave us a place to share things we wouldn’t normally – she gave us a place to shout in an unfamiliar voice. Thanks, -R-!

I tried to read and comment on every post, but technology wasn’t always cooperative. Some of the posts were moving. Some were raw. Many were funny. I read about biological clocks, body image issues, the lasting effects of emotional and physical trauma, physical ailments, "H" + "edonism", and stories of triumph over hardship. We vented about friends, family, and spouses. We shared things we won’t write about “at home” because certain people read us. I read about hairy toes, anger, and heartbreak. I laughed, I cried . . . each of you became a part of me.

I was humbled by the writing skill of my co-participants. I was moved by the comments. I could tell I wasn’t the only one riding the circuit yesterday and without fail the comments were kind, positive, and included messages of hope and support. The Blogosphere is an amazing community and I am proud to be a part of it. Y’all give me the warm fuzzies!

As a participant I can say that the freedom offered by the anonymity was cathartic. I hope we do it again despite the problems with maintaining anonymity. It seemed that there were many who didn’t participate this time that wanted to next time. Maybe if the blogroll of participants is significantly longer it would be impossible for the Nosy Parkers of the world to ruin it.

And finally, I have a crush on the gal who was my anony-poster. She and I exchanged emails and I was smitten immediately. She is a sweet and funny gal. I was thrilled when she wanted to play along with my silly NaBloPoMo contest, but I was even more impressed when her song-lyric post title was so outstanding. Plus? The little stinker broke all standing records on my site – comments, visitors. She’s welcome to vent her secrets here anytime.