Words, words, words

So. I have been staring at, above, and around this cartoon for the past half hour, wondering how to begin. When it comes down to it, the thought of actually creating my own post has proven to be somewhat overwhelming. I want to say something interesting, something that might open up a conversation, something.... And yet I spent the weekend grading midterms, and Lucy woke up two hours earlier than normal today, and my mind is mushy. (Just like the mushy green avacado Lucy ate for dinner tonight. We're cultivating her tastes for future family salsa nights.)

And so I turn to Dilbert.

I find it ironic that as someone who has dedicated the past several years of her life to the study of words, I am now unsure what to say. I do, however, know a thing or two about cleaning our shower.

I think what I want out of this whole blog experiment/experience is to give myself a chance to open up, or perhaps loosen up, my literary expectations. I find that I actually do some of my most productive thinking through writing (not that it's particularly elegant or profound, but it is productive for the furthering of my own thoughts). I want to write. The thing is, being out of school, being into mommying, I don't often find reasons to write. I've been reading other blogs for a while now, and I enjoy the conversations (and the thinking) but still feel a little unsure about jumping into them myself. So here I am, giving myself permission to write. And it's ok if it's not brilliant. (I think I still have pent-up thesis performance anxiety left over from the fall--I feel like if it's not new and original, it's not worth writing. But that line of thought ignores the value of writing for my own enjoyment.)

All right. I'll stop these ramblings and get on to something more cohesive. But I just had to work through this whole idea a bit before I went any farther.