Strollerderby : blogs as therapy

Strollerderby Playdate: The Awful Blog I Can't Stop Reading

Madeline Holler — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:32:00 GMT

How can it be that I am a regular reader of this blog? I mean, you could hardly call it a blog -- she posts only once or twice a month, it's not terribly interesting, it's surrounded by ads for gentle yet overpriced baby laundry detergent that you don't even need.

And it's her! Her! I don't even like her! I am not interested in her! I do nothing but criticize and disagree with her. I didn't watch her on TV before and, now that she's back, I still don't. I won't! Yet, I read her blog. I check it for updates, feel let down when there are none. I find myself identifying with her truly mundane stories and smiling at -- and I mean this in the rudest ways -- the very unfunny funny things she strains to write. Please, what is wrong with me?

Somehow, I have let Elisabeth Hasselbeck get under my skin and into the heart of my web browser. Bafflingly, I don't consider the three minutes I put in each month checking out her posts -- she doesn't even have links or games or a photo album to look through! -- wasted time. How could I? I love reading it! But shouldn't I hate myself a little more for loving it? Shouldn't I want to soak in a tub of scalding hot water and gentle Dreft soap bubbles?

It's like the playgroup I go to again and again. The membership is dwindling, the only mom who shows up is the one you have nothing in common with. Nothing! But I keep going -- once or twice a month -- to not connect, to not agree, to not enjoy. Why go? Why not.

Holy Bloody Show! Live Birth Blogging Going on - Right Now!

Alisyn — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 23:01:00 GMT

This has got to be the most awesome thing ever: Mamaloo is blogging the birth of her second child - LIVE. Right now!

The updates are coming quickly, and she is managing to keep readers in the loop while experiencing contractions. Last update:

2:33pm: Contractions definitely getting more intense. Gonna have to start working through them a little. I'll have to start tracking them, too.

I feel really blessed to be surrounded by so much support from you dear readers. Your kind words and good wishes and happy labour vibes are helping. Thank you!

I am amazed by anyone who attempts, let alone achieves, a homebirth. But a homebirthing-live-blogging-superstar? She's enough to make me feel like anything in the world is possible!

Go, Mamaloo! And get born, baby!

(Check back for updates!)

Strollerderby Playdate: Whither You Go Roadside Bar?

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 11:03:00 GMT

It used to be that I loved going to Oregon. I loved the long drive up the northern spine of California. I loved the idyllic theater town we stayed in, and I loved the 5,000 Shakespeare plays we'd see when we got there.

But now ... now the thought of strapping a 14-month-old into a car seat she uses maybe once, twice a month is just too much to bear. Emmeline is accustomed to traveling on the bus or in my arms -- both car seat-free conveyances. She treats the car like it's a dentist -- it's there simply to drill her teeth and make her scream.

But, alas, this morning we depart for "vacation." And while the plays will still be there when we arrive, beckoning us, I'm not sure I'll have the mental brain capacity thingy stuff to enjoy them. See? A 5 hour ride is already getting to me. (Yes, I know, poor, poor me -- I get a nice break.)

Still, I'm taking solace in the fact that it's summer, and I'm not alone. America is all about the road trip.

At least Hilary's road trip ended with a cool concert. Even if it was in Kansas.

The Adventures of Adler knows how to dress a kid for the road. Awesome hat!

Laughter and Loveliness embarks on an 11-hour trip. I feel much, much better.

Angsty is the New Happy: Parents Eschew Therapy for Blogging

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 12:17:00 GMT

Her Bad Mother is a wonderful writer who has an impressive ~~Google ranking~~ following for someone who has only been blogging since January of last year (could be all those references to "sore nipples.") She is a professor who lives in Toronto and is part of an excellent group of writers at UrbanMoms. She writes today (and quite frequently) about the angst and worry she feels about parenting her darling daughter, Wonder Baby. As Wonder Baby gets older and more active, the trouble seems to get deeper. The adorable giblet pictured at right is now a wild and challenging toddler.

Like many parent bloggers she uses her blog as therapy. And while her style has often been derided (as popularized by the now defunct TrainWrecks), reading her blog, one is keenly aware of the difference between solipsism and soulfulness. Blogs like hers are honest and vulnerable and true. Like all things of this nature, they inspire awe and gentleness rather than snark and sarcasm. And in their own way, they make the world better.