The Starting Gate

So here I am, writing a blog. And hyperventilating. As my annual vacation friends are well aware, I'm not one to plunge in. But here I go.

Initially, I thought this format could supplement my work on MyWire, covering some of the same topic areas -- books and the literary life, tennis, family issues. But other interests kept popping up: education and equity issues; America's continuing struggle with race; changes to places I love; the challenges and wonders I encounter living in one slice of paradise, the people's republic of Berkeley. My hope is that this will be a place for me to share the resources I've come across, support the efforts of my friends, and occasionally... rant. I'm not shy about voicing my opinion (as you all know), but I also want to hear from any/all of you, whether you agree or disagree with what I post. I profess I can still learn from hearing differing opinions, this will be a good check!

My main critique of blogs is that they're often self-indulgent. I hope mine won't be. Or that I'll figure out a way to share what's going on in my life without sounding too dogmatic or self-absorbed. That's another area you can check me on. But since this is about my personal life, here's an introduction to some of the recuring characters:
the lovely, brilliant and amazing nieces/ One lives locally, the other farther way. I'll call them the local niece and the long-distance niece.
the boys/ My best friend's sons, who live a few blocks away. Both are in elementary school, both are incredibly active and I've been amazed to see how much kids change day to day. And how they enter this world firmly formed and the challenge for adults is to work with that knowledge. I haven't figured out how to identify them yet.
my tribe/ the above-mentioned folks, my family of origin, and the large, diverse, extended community of dear friends and colleagues I've been been blessed to be a part of over the years. This includes my writing group, my book group and the talented women I work with at my favorite yarn store (my LYS - local yarn store in knitter's lingo). These are the resources and experts I mentioned earlier; I'll link you to their sites as I can.

So here I am out the gate. That wasn't so bad!!