Who said moving wasn't fun?

Maybe you haven't noticed, but I haven't been blogging a lot lately. I've got a pretty good reason, too.

We're moving.

We're leaving beautiful (albeit soggy) Oregon behind and setting our sights for hot and sunny Texas. This is happening in thirty-seven days on 20 September. In thirty-seven days we need to navigate the murky, often scary, world of real estate, get our loan squared away, somehow try to understand the 4.2 million papers they ask you to sign at closing at the rate of one document a second (Well, it seems that way, anyway.), coordinate moving all our belongings (and my parents' stuff, as well. Long story, don't ask.) 2427 miles away, packing up said things, organizing shut-off times, turn-on times and everything else associated with changing residences, and make appropriate changes to our current home to make it a rental. But by far, the most stress-inducing thing needing to be checked off our to-do list is.......finish the bathroom!

Yeah, you remember that? It is still sitting there, naked as all get out, dressed only in a whirlpool tub and various pipes. Poor thing. It needs to be complete.

At night, instead of the usual evil man in a semi-truck chasing me and from which I can never escape, my dreams are filled with devilish visions of unfinished bathrooms: The entire house collapsing in on the stud-baring walls, guests trying to "do their business" in the hole we drilled in the floor for future plumbing, finding myself forever trapped in this house, never to escape its half-finished renovation.

The ubiquitous "They" weren't joking when they said that moving is stressful. Not one iota.

That's my explanation/warning. Blogging is in the backseat right now. And not the rear of a sedan. I'm talkin' the seat-in-the-Greyhound-bus-that-shares-its-aisle-with-the-bathroom kind of backseat.

I love blogging. I really do. But I've other responsibilities right now that sneer at the endless pursuit, calling it "frittery" and "time guzzler." And I can't argue. Not at this moment in time. Those other responsibilities may be bullies, but they've got a valid point. I'll have time for blogging in the future, but for the next 37 days...the bullies win.

Why do I blog?

My friend and fellow blogger, Bethany of The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. recently asked this question of herself and then answered it. She challenged her readers to figure out the answers for their own blogs. Ever since I've seen the post, I've been wanting to respond with my answer. This is my third attempt to do so. The last two were deleted before they could even be called posts.

I think I can now finally sit for two minutes and put my thoughts together. So without further ado...Why do I blog?

Hmmmm. I don't know. Just kidding. I love to write. I love variety. Together they make the perfect combination for this thing called blogging. Originally I started in order to practice the skill of writing. I've wanted to write a book for years and have started probably half a dozen, but that's it. I've only started them. I can't seem to find "the book" that I want to write. I'm not sure what it is that God is preparing me for, but I really believe that writing is part of it. I figured in the meantime I would just write...so here I am.

Along the way, new reasons that I didn't foresee have popped into my "why." I have discovered that a number of my friends blog. I've been able to keep in touch and even further our friendships through this medium. Also, there is a huge sense of community among bloggers. Reading and commenting on others' posts brings new people to my own posts and vice versa. It is amazing, yet hard to believe, that people from all over the world have read my blog and that I can read the daily thoughts of someone ten thousand miles away.

In order to be completely honest I must address another reason. Keeping an online journal does touch upon the narcissistic. You have to think highly enough of yourself and feel confident enough to put your thoughts down and not only be okay with others reading them, but actually expect them to. Fortunately, that is exactly what happens all over the blogosphere. (For the record: I hate the word blogosphere.) In the end, people do care. Of course,the first people to read (and return!) tend to be family and close friends, but most blogs find their niche and slowly but surely, the people who are looking for just those words that only you can say will find you.

My final motivation is the simple act of entertainment. I really enjoy amusing others. In the end, I'm not the type to contemplate the deeper things in life and then post about them. I know others who can, and they excel at recording their thought processes and conclusions. To borrow the words of Mr. Powers, "It's not my bag, baby." Don't get me wrong, I can and do enjoy a philosphical discussion of serious issues, it just isn't my default. I automatically resort to humor and plain ol' fun. If I can make someone smile while they are reading my words, I'm feeling good about life and myself.

The quick and easy answer to "Why does Tricia blog?" is this: I do it because I really enjoy it. The long answer is everything I wrote above the last sentence. Weren't you paying attention?

p.s. What's wrong with the above photo? The answer is in comments.