Exciting News

I have some exciting news to share with you today, my small but loyal readership. As of 10:00PST (that's noon, Minneapolis time) today, I will officially be the newest contributing writer for The Next Family. Check out their website at http://www.thenextfamily.com/. The Next Family is a website dedicated to the new, modern family. Gay and lesbian families, single parent families, mixed race families, urban dwellers. I will be writing a weekly blog on their website.

I have to admit that I am a bit nervous. Since being contacted by The Next Family's editor, I have voraciously read every word written on their website and many of their writers are simply phenomenal. Funny, witty, intelligent, informed. I am not sure how well my personal tales of pee and poop and sleepless nights will compare. I think that I am occasionally funny, though my humor appeals to a certain very small subset of society. Namely chain-smoking, cocktail-chugging housewives from western Kentucky. Witty? Hmmm....I don't know about that one. I think I am witty, but my son's constant eye rolls and sneers tell a different story. Intelligent? I listen to NPR on the radio on my way to work each morning. I should get a few brownie points for that. I've never been contacted by Mensa or anything, but I am a former spelling bee contender (in fifth grade, though Steven Peak always beat me....damn his skinny, 80-pound hide! I should have sat on him.), I have some mad Scrabble skills, and I can correctly spell onomatopoeia (but don't ask me to define it). Informed? Hmmm...that's a toughy. I don't really watch the news. I don't read the newspaper, other than to check out the Target ad on Sunday mornings. I used to be an avid reader, but my children have sucked up every free moment of my day that may have once been devoted to books. I watch Dr. Phil and Oprah. So I am "informed" about how to avoid a potentially abusive husband (a skill that comes in handy) and I can list off every one of Oprah's Favorite Things 2010 (someone feel free to buy me an iPad).

Ok...now I am making myself nervous. If I am not as funny, witty, intelligent, and informed as I think I am, how in the world am I going to build a following for my writing? Where will I find my throngs of devoted fans? What will become of the paparazzi I envisioned camped out on my front lawn? Oh well...I guess we shall see.

In the meantime, as we await my fate, check out The Next Family's website and read the work of some writers who are funny, witty, intelligent and informed. You'll love them...trust me.