Tuesday, July 1st, 2008...12:01 am

Finding a Voice & the Tie that Binds

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As I sit here in my cotton tee and undies, with my glasses slightly askew, I start to become a bit maudlin.  Now, for me, the blogosphere has come full circle (almost).  On the 21st, I will officially celebrate one year of blogging - something that still shocks me.  Because, although it is only one year, it is one year filled with a new and exciting means of expression.

I remember the first few times I read Catwoman’s blog and wanted to comment.  I did not have a google account, so I was relegated to being a lurker.  If you know anything about loud-mouthed Texans, you understand this was not something I was programmed to handle well.  It goes against the very nature of being a Texan. 

It was not long before I started streaming words together to create my own blog.  Everything I typed seemed to already exist.  I think I failed perhaps twenty times before I put real thought into a blog name. What are some qualities I possess?  Hmm.  anglophile - Yes, I do love those crazy Brits.  I get an unnatural high from years like 1215, 1305, & 1588.  That describes me.  What else do I love?  I’m not solely a history nerd.  I also love…uhhh…OH!  Football.  Yes, I do love the pigskin almost to a fanatical point.  I carefully typed, anglophilefootballfanatic into the box, and a site, run by a neophyte was born.

I never could have imagined what the combination of those three words would mean to me.  I hear time and again about the community we have here.  Yes, there is that, but there is so much more.  I have found women who are like sisters, women I would marry (in a ceremony performed by a female Elvis!), women who are my parents’ age and discuss things that make this naive gal blush.  I have found a new family.   I have shared grief through tragic death.  I have rejoiced with births and pregnancy announcements.  I have bonded with a group of women (and more recently three wonderful and dedicated men) I feel I know even more intimately than people who are close to me in reality.

With you I can put thought to “paper” and write it all out.  You support, you encourage, you pat me on the back when I need reassurance.  The little nuances I keep to myself, I share out here, and I am always surprised to find I am not alone.  I read/am read by 5 women who suffer from the same PCOS I do.  Saying I really wish I could hear the Bibbi Botchka Song from Perfect Strangers?  Drew a blank stare from people I see on a daily or weekly basis.  Here, it brought out others who sang along.  These eccentricities I keep hidden away - with you?  I vocally share, and willingly.  You never say how odd it is for a former English teacher to take such liberties with the English grammar and usage…especially my use of the ellipse, hyphen,  and exclamation point!

For all the support, compassion, and joy you have brought to me, I thank you.  From the bottom of my heart I thank you.  I promise I get more out of this than I give to it.  It does not even seem fair, really.  From three words that were reflective of my personality, I came up with anglophilefootballfanatic, but you, my readers, my confidantes, my friends, made those words a home.  You followed me through not one but two moves and three headers.  You make me grateful to call the blogosphere a second home.  Through you I have found a voice in the tie that binds us together, blogging.

To show my appreciation to you, I will be having a series of giveaways this month.  Several will be announced ahead of time, and maybe there will be a few that just show up some day during the month.  For today’s giveaway $25 at Starbucks (good for a java or two, right?), I will award based on comments.  One entry for each commenter, please.  I also have my little button you see on the left sidebar & below (thanks NW, as always!) and if you would like to put it in your sidebar, I will give you an additional entry.  ***Updated to say, in your comment let me know if you put the button up.  Here’s the code:
<a href=”http://anglophilefootballfanatic.com/”><img border=”0″ view¤t=”nwdesigns3.jpg” = alt=”Photobucket” src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3129/2625173001_3c8729dd2b_o.gif”/></a>

And, all entries must be received by 10:00 CST tonight.

Thank you for making me laugh, cry, smile, and gasp! each and every day.

Holly aka AFF

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Filed under Getting Older and Wiser, Hola Amigos, Motor Mouth, bloggy buddies

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