Love and a Side Note

I've been "out of the office" for the last month. It started when we arrived in Dubai, fresh with stories and hilarity, as most travel induces for us. But, when I sat down at my computer, I was shocked to see that the UAE had blocked my blog. Deemed it "innapropriate content" even. My first reaction? I'm on a censorship list because, obviously, the powers that be in this country have read my blog and don't want my crazy ideas getting into the heads of locals, or it would create a serious revolution. A revolution of what, I wasn't sure of. But I'm going to assume it would be a revolution of goodwill and good food. Because that's the kind of revolution I would want to start. Whether it's reflected in the blog thus far has yet to be determined.

I don't take the power of words lightly, and I do hope that anyone who reads mine create a place where we can all see the universality of life. It's by far the greatest lesson I've had the priviledge of learning while living abroad and that fact that it makes us laugh in the process is a bonus. And while I do dream of the day my words (from this blog or elsewhere) will someday be published and reach people (adding "bestselling author" to a resume would'nt be awful, either...), I use this time and these entries for my family.

I imagine a time in the future, when we're all gone, and a new form of archaeology exists. Where people carefully dust off and dig through ancient http:// addresses and the archaic art of email writing. I createimaginary conversations in my head that they talk to each other about what it must have been like to type an email that would take as long as five seconds to get to its recipient. Or the facination with someone like me, who wrote a blog with no video. (hey, it's not for lack of trying...) What will they find? Deep in our facebook pages, twitter posts, flicker albums, how do we hold up in history? Hopefully these researchers don't stop with all the "duck-face" pictures and Justin Beiber, and maybe they'll see me.

Even moreso, I want our future children to be able to see these and think that we were pretty cool before we got to be weird parents. And I want them to learn from twenty-something me (soon to be thirty-something me...), because if my mom continues to pray the way she does, I'm certain they will be able to relate and hopefully learn a little.

It also doesn't help that I'm reading a book right now by one of my very favorite authors, Anne Lamott, about writing. Only I've just gotten as far as the part where she talks about how hard it is for her to sit and write. And if it's difficult for my favorite best-selling author to sit and write, how on earth am I supposed to get these words out of my head and into a story?

So, I do apologize for taking a leave of absence, but the blog is for me. Well, 90% for me. Probably 9% so that my mother doesn't spend thousands of dollars on daily international phone calls (your welcome, Dad...) and 1% major publishing companies.

Cheers to your words. However carefully chosen and stored.