Although I vowed I would never have one of these things, I have thrown caution to the wind and now am officially a "blogger." I feel like blogs are somewhat self-aggrandizing, and that people who read them are nosy. I certainly didn't want the whole world to be able to read intimate details about me and my family (hmmm, that must be the FBI wife coming out in me). But now I've learned that you can make them private, so I figure it's okay for just the people I invite to read about my boring life.
I think it's easy to want everyone to see that our lives are so fun and perfect (like Christmas letters tend to do, but blogs do it on an everyday basis). That is not my aim; I just want a convenient way to record the meaningful moments in my family's life. Also, I found out you can have your blog archives (and pics) printed into a book at blurb.com. Ah ha! Instant journal for me, since I am so terrible at keeping one! My plan is to print it at the end of the year, and voila, my personal history will begin to be recorded. Plus, it's good for my writing skills, which are in desperate need of polishing (I forgot the word "oxymoron" a few days ago--unforgivable for an English major!).
A little about my blog name: It comes from a song I love by Cherie Call called "Paint It Red." All my life I have pretty much been a conservative, neutral-color person--kind of blah, and too self-conscious to "go out on a limb," so to speak. Well, now that I'm approaching 40, I feel like it's time to punch it up a little--not much, mind you--but a little. I'm not ready to get that far away from my comfort zone! I am finding that I love color, especially red! But I'm not going whole-hog just yet. I'm only in the "accent" stage. I think I'll always be reserved, but a little punch of color here and there really makes me smile.
I think the whole "red thing" is a good metaphor for life as well. The song lyrics are about a couple of people who are sad because their lives aren't going like they had hoped. I love the chorus because it says they should stop feeling blue and "paint their world red." It can make all the difference in life. We can choose to be optimistic, busy, and in charge of our own destiny, or pessimistic, lethargic, and miserable. We have been talking about this in our house a lot lately. I have been telling the kids that I have to create and look for my own "red moments"--those little things that lift my spirits and make this life enjoyable. They don't just fall out of the sky, and I can't wait for other people to "make" me happy (Debbie Delahoussaye is one of the best proponents of this philosophy--thanks Deb!). I like Nephi's take on it too: "Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves" (2 Ne 10:23).
Well, it's obvious I need this kind of channel to vent all my crazy ramblings! Here goes, and here's to painting life RED!