And If I...

show you my dark side, will you still hold me tonight? And if I open my heart to you, show you my weak side, what would you do?
-The Final Cut

So it seems that keeping a blog is an odd proposition for someone who is, at times, insanely private and not driven to sharing. I often think of things that I find interesting, or odd, or frightening that I would like to explore through writing and having conversations. But when I sit down to begin I almost immediately am overwhelmed with the feeling that keeping my mouth shut and my fingers silent is most likely the better course of action. It also seems as though on those rare occasions that I am ready to open up a bit on a subject something far more important and immediate pops up to take over whatever time I would have used to write.

It's funny, I often catch myself assuming that the people in my life know and understand the way I feel about them until I realize that unless they have started to read minds, they wouldn't have any reason to know. (As a side note, if any of you have learned how to read minds...enter at your risk, no one here gets out alive.) I think that I am going to use a series of posts to attempt to, in some small way, remedy this.

A month or two back I posted a my Facebook status update: "I have the best sisters. Ever. Just thought you should know." And it is true. Most people are lucky if they have the influence of one awesome sister and I have four. Rebecca, Joanne, Laura, and Sarah. Four beautiful, intelligent, and loving women each strong in their own way. Neither my family or I would be in the place we are at today if it wasn't for the help of my sisters. And I truly would be remiss if I didn't add Andrea Rediske to this list. It's not for nothing that my children have always referred to her as their aunt. The fact that they have all found a way to be strong in a world that too often does not respect or protect its young women is a constant source of inspiration. I love all of you and I wish that I could do more for you than a silly post on a silly blog.