Community for the Modern Age

One of the many things that I am loving about blogging is the sense of 'community', of being part of something in solidarity with others. This is something that I didn't expect from 'blogging' of all things.

Often, when I am reading my favorite blogs I am suprized by the impact that blog followers have on bloggers. Kelly Rae Roberts (one of my favorite blogs/bloggers) regularly speaks up to thank her followers for their support and comments, for lifting her in her times of doubt and for rejoicing with her in her times of joy. I think that's incredible!

In another blog that I came across, the blogger was sharing with her followers news that her adult son had been involved in a serious car accident and her followers immediate response was to organize a vigil on his behalf. She also spoke of how she gained great strength from the hundreds of comments offering support that her followers were leaving for her, knowing she would be reading them between her visits to the hospital. Again, I am blown away by this ... it is amazing that strangers become friends and more through this medium.

Connecting with people, be it over the serious and painful issues or over the humorous and meaningless is for me a really enjoyable thing to do. At the moment I am really enjoying re-connecting with a friend that I met when I was just seventeen. I have previously spoken about her here under the subheading 'Those who Inspire'. Mama - and more! tagged me in her post yesterday 'filling in the blanks' which leads me onto another great detail about the blogging community. The whole notion of sharing knowledge and information, exchanging ideas, of finding others with similar views, interests etc. So in the spirit of that mama - and more! has passed on 'filling in the blanks' from Circus Queen who also blogged about it here.

So here I go filling in the blanks. Now, this is probably a first for me. I'm normally the person rolling her eyes into the back of her head when these things surface but I'm game today! Oh and thank you Zaz/Mama - and SO much more!

I am ..... a mother, a wife, an artist, sister and friend.

The bravest thing I have ever done ..... is getting married when I was twenty years old. I felt certain that it would work, I had no doubts and fifteen years later I have no regrets!

I feel prettiest when ..... I wear my head wrap african style. Hubby always tells me he loves how it frames my face and that I look beautiful, he did so just this morning.

Something that keeps me up at night ..... ideas for the paper on cultural theory that I'd one day like published, unwritten and part written songs, sound pieces and spoken word that I'd like to record, pictures and drawings in my head that haven't found their way to paper, canvas or printmaking yet, the desire to re-organize my books (of which there are many) so that they appear not only in their genre but alphabetized within their genre. Not getting round to being more romantic with my husband, singing and the angst of why I don't do more of it, thoughts of performing live art and the cowardice that I have displayed in not getting round to just doing it, song loops ... last night it was crush on you by the jets!!! They come from nowhere and over and over again it goes round in my head ....

My favorite meal is ..... banku with fresh shitor and fried fish accompanied by an ice cold bottle of muscatella for sweet memories of Ghana, big sis's homemade falafel followed by her coconut cake for rare catch up times with both of my sisters, a traditional english roast or groundnut soup and rice prepared by mum for a cosy sunday lunch.

The way to my heart is ..... to listen and pay attention to the small stuff that I feel and talk about that may not mean anything to anyone else. Finding out that I don't like the smell of egg in some cakes, knowing that I have a fear of mobility scooters and finding it hilarious, noticing that when it's windy my right eye waters just like my dad's used to, knowing that even though I do love wearing head wraps I do it in part to avoid going to the hairdressers who always tell me off (black hairdressers tell you off 'Auntie' stylee too) things like that!

I would like to be ..... a person that my sons are proud of, a person that has managed to embed enough values into her children for them to know that it is important to value their mother (yep, they are aged five and two and already I am the expectant, demanding mother), in Ghana with Stuart and the children every summer holiday so that I can share my love of this amazing heritage with the people closest to me, making a toast having completed my masters and Phd, the size I was after I gave birth to Zach, oh how I hanker for those abs and triceps which at the time I had no idea looked so good ( I wish it didn't matter to me ... but it does), on a great family adventure in the not too distant future, alone with my hubby a lot more of the time, alone and all by myself ... a lot more of the time.

It seems fitting to tag a few of my favorite bloggers too:

Kelly Rae Roberts, Hula Seventy, Stephanie Levy, Pickaland, Pia Jane Bijerk