This was another (thankfully rare) Pipsqueak-free weekend for me; aside from a super-quick "conversation" with the most energetic member of the family on the phone, we didn't get to look for new pictures of princesses or sharks (long story) on my 'puter or sing our special personalized version of The Wiggles' "Big Red Car."
I was also very proud of myself for finally -- seventeen months after having new windows installed! -- buying curtains for the two front rooms to replace the trash bags I'd taped up for privacy... and the same curtain set that was $24.99 at BB&B was only $9 on clearance at K-Mart! (Who says guys can't shop, huh?!?!?)
I've also been following along on the blog of some friends who are in China meeting their new daughter right now -- Gotcha Day was the 6th (China time) and so far things are looking pretty good. It's been bringing back lots of memories, which have made me dive into the adoption-related parts of the blogosphere even more than usual.
Which got me to thinking, as the saying goes.
Maybe it's the recent "Circle of Momsgate" ruckus, maybe it's just my becoming more open to a wider range of opinions about adoption, or maybe I've just developed heightened senses that make my ears perk up (so to speak) when adoption is discussed... but I'm beginning to wonder if I'm a minority in the adoption blogosphere.
I'm not referring to the incredibly small number of males of the species who blog on the subject (and there seem to be darned few of us out here). I am referring to the type & content of my posts. The vast majority of the prose I've produced talks about my (mis)adventures as an uncle, the silly/cute/funny stuff that the Pipsqueak sometimes seems to attract like iron filings to a magnet, the adventures involved in watching a little girl grow up... sometimes there's a bit of reminiscing going on, or a teeny-tiny bit of privacy fade to allow some personal feelings and/or self-analysis to show up... but lately it seems that most people blogging about adoption in any way are talking about Serious Issues.
You know, the fun stuff: Adoptee rights. First mothers vs. adoptive mothers. Mothers' loss of their babies. The unique problems adoptees face just trying to live day-to-day like everyone else. (I'm not making light of these very real, very serious issues; I'm just trying to keep the general tone of this particular post a bit lighter.)
The most recent thought inducer was a post in the Adoption Magazine blog, where an adoption "blog hop" was begun back in April. (The list is now closed to new additions, but you can find the blog hop here.) Unlike the CoM blog contest (which really was an online popularity contest), the AM blog hop is a listing that doesn't go tap dancing in the minefield of popularity or appropriateness of one's point of view. Instead, it is a list with two very simple rules: the blog must be by someone affected directly by adoption (Dude, someone finally figured out there's more than just parents involved with these kids, are those hosannahs I hear?) and the blogger needs to be respectful of others' views.
I like that: short, sweet, to the point... and polite. And accepting of diversity. (I like it so much that you'll find me at #106 on the list.)
However, to borrow from Monty Python: There is one small problem. I clicked through the list of links pretty much at random, and out of a dozen or so blogs I sampled (to be honest, my samples were often just posting before moving on to another blog) ONE seemed to have posts similar to my own, and ONE seemed to be leaning in that direction while aaaallllll the others seemed to be much more involved in discussing some of the more serious issues in the adoption world.
I'm really not a Pollyanna; I've made a conscious choice to concentrate on telling the story of my sister's journey to adopt her daughter and of my niece's growing up rather than discussing the issues in the background. I've (barely) begun to talk about those issues, and I can guarantee there will be plenty of such discussions in the future, but that's simply not the purpose or focus of my blog.
Does that really make me a minority? Are blogs supposed to be serious, issue-oriented online publications with only minor, temporary deviations into the territory of Cute?
I believe in diversity, even in publications and writing -- so I'll be keeping my blog the way it is. But (and consider yourselves warned) there will indeed be forays into much more serious territory every now and then.
But someone's gotta keep the lighter side in view, don't you agree?
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