The White Picket Platform

I am not fond of big city chaos. I prefer the silence and solitude of the woods. Don’t take it personally, San Francisco, if I do not leave my heart here. I also can’t stand staying indoors for long periods of time. In general, I avoid large crowds and feel awkward in new situations with people I do not know.
But sometimes change requires you to be uncomfortable for awhile. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s like trying on a different style that you always liked but never thought would look good on you. But put it on and wear it, and voila! not only does it fit, it looks great!
So here I am in this big west coast city, starting my second day of the BlogHer conference, where I am spending all my time with a thousand or so other women (and a few men) in the ample rooms of the Westin St. Francis Hotel. It is amazing to be with so many extraordinary women; smart, intelligent, funny. Some are entrepreneurs, some are mommies posting amazing stories about their lives, some are artists, some are like me; here to soak up knowledge and meet some of the faces behind the blogs I read.
Blogging is today’s version of the backyard chat, the conversation with the neighbor over the white picket fence, only now the fence we lean over is Blogspot, WordPress, Typepad, and the conversations about children, jobs, pets, shopping, health, fitness, joys, sorrows, are not only with the people next door but with bloggers from Florida to Madagascar, New Jersey to Alaska and beyond. There are no longer geographical limitations to your network of friends. While you sleep, the blogger network is creating a vast web of relationships around the globe, and we are adding more to our lives because of it.
You never know, some changes just might save this old planet. Like trying on new clothes, it could just make it a better place.