Not entirely about us, for a change.

I love blogland, despite my occasional rants to the contrary. Lately, I've been a regular reader of Sweet Salty, this amazing woman who just had twins at 28 weeks. That's really, really early, for those of you who haven't had 37-40 weeks of your life devoured by a fetus. At any rate, she writes with clarity and brutal honesty, and it's just the most dramatic, compelling, moving story I've ever read. If you'd like to experience this, start here.

The thing is, these sort of stories are what terrified me before we had V, and what keep that baby-urge from returning. People don't hesitate to point out to me that, at 34, I should really be thinking about another pregnancy/baby before too long, if we're going to do that. And most people make it clear that we really OUGHT to do that. My favorite are those childless people who have strong opinions on the drawbacks of only children. (that's a funny plural, isn't it?).

Sweet Salty and those with stories of her ilk are also moving and inspiring in the whole "triumph of the human spirit" vein, and unlike the morbid fascination people have when, say, driving by a terrible accident, the blog format allows strangers (and loved ones, too) in to a deeper, more personal, more interesting place. It's ten thousands times more effective than those sappy People Magazine articles, and I find this use of a blog--to share burdens, to provide clear, honest prose on human experience in a day-by-day format--to be the most impressive, even honorable, use of what can often be a fairly ridiculous, self-involved medium. I mean, certainly, Sweet Salty's blog is self-involved. But she cuts through the banal with such honesty: maybe it's that, more than anything, that impresses me. I've read so many blogs that delicately try not to offend anyone (including Great Aunt Louise, who can't even turn on a computer, much less read your blog) or that provide humor and avoid truth. I understand the compulsion to both options, but I prefer to read clarity and honesty.

I also enjoy blogs that share information or inspire: for me, that's mostly craft or design blogs, like SouleMama, Inside a Black Apple, and Print and Pattern. When I first started blogging, this was the sort of thing I hoped Languishing would become. But I don't have the energy or desire for that, and I don't have the cajones it would take to be as honest as Sweet Salty. So instead, Languishing remains small, intimate, as a way to quickly get updates out to people I love (much like the paper version of Languishing, started so many years ago, original was meant to do).

I guess despite the title of this post, it really was about us after all. Languishing seeks her place in blogland, and enjoys many of the different voices in this choir. Happy first of June. Count your blessings. Be kind to only children.