Sven's Personal Mailbag

I received this piece of mail recently,

"Dear Sven,

Where the hell have you been, dude? Did you fall in a friggin' hole or something?"

Signed, The Gang"



I appreciate the sentiment.

No, I'm not dead, sick or tired of you people. Yes, I have been busy lately but that is an easy excuse since none of you really know what I do every day anyway. My final exam was due this week, Emma makes her first communion soon, my Ultimate Team went to Madison for a tournament and I have band practice coming up this weekend. All of that aside, the truth is time just got away from me. That and I'm still searching for things to write about.

You see I started this blog thing because I wanted to comment on something a local right wing political hack here in MN said and I couldn't do it anonymously so I had to create an identity and stake my claim. I figured as long as I'm here it might be a good way to share a few stories and pictures of my kids for the out of town relatives and practice a little grammar along the way. I didn't really expect anyone to actually read my ramblings, with the possible exception of Gitsul.

As I began to explore a bit the first person I ran into was Mabel and her best friend Gina. They seemed harmless enough and they shared my passion for parenting while refusing to let go of that rebellious streak that will surely to come back to haunt all of us as our children reach adolescence. Then I met Charlie. I was immediately impressed by his combination of humor and humility. He introduced me to all manner of Saints, liars and human/animal hybrids. It was then that blogging took on a life of it's own. Not unlike a drug addiction, I was drawn into the culture and posted and commented with reckless abandoned. So as not to be seduced alone I managed to drag my friend Sophia along with me. I'm still not sure whether to feel proud or guilty.

You see, I've never fancied myself a writer. Partly because as a child I was mildly dyslexic so reading and writing never came easy, plus I constantly second guessed the value of what I had to say. Oh sure, I'm like anyone else, when motivated I can spout off with the best of them, although I think I blew my wad with the Harry Potter thing. My inspiration comes in fits and starts but what I seem to lack is sustain. Whether accurate or self-conscious, I have yet to truly figure out whether I have anything of value to say. Since it seems that my primary audience isn't my family but an anonymous cast of "other" (not LOST-like "others", but strangers nonetheless) I'm not sure what you will find of interest and what you'll declare as tedious. I could rant about the new, geographically challenged, restaurant in town called Atlantic Buffet that features sushi, Chinese and Mongolian BBQ or show pictures of Luke and his first lost tooth, but frankly, who cares besides me? I'd love to go political but that seems to easy.

Perhaps it will come, but as of now I'm still trying to figure out what it takes. I'm tickled by acerbic wit of Atilla The Mom and Nikki. I certainly no longer possess the innocence displayed by The Poodle's Friend or Erin. I admire the passion and conviction of FrankenGirl and the honesty and tenderness of Rhonda. And I think all of us hope to established the longevity and following of Kim.

Maybe just need to relax.


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Note: This is NOT an attempt to fish for validation or reassurance so please do not leave comments of that nature. I am simply attempting to clarify my absence, shed light on potential reasons, figure a few things out about myself and do it all in a slightly open forum. Don't worry, I'm just fine. If I drop off the planet for a while it's probably because I don't have anything to say. That or I'm busy parenting. Either way, I'll be back real soon.

And I'm sorry I forgot to link the Sunday Trumpet last week.