Do You Surf?

If we knew each other's secrets, what comforts we should find. ~John Churton Collins

My name is Kimberly Oakes and I am a blog snoop! I LOVE to read blogs...I'm truly addicted. I get up in the morning and check my "regular" seven or so blogs. I have my favorites. (These are sites that change almost daily and I can't wait to see what was posted while I slept.) Most are family & friends and I like to see the photos of events that I have missed being so far away. Then it's off to work. When I get in and have time, I check the "Blogs That Make Me Happy" on my own blog page. These change daily to monthly depending, but I check them everyday just to see what new treasures have been posted on-line.

http://www.tastespotting.com/ is my favorite foodie blog as it takes all the greatness from the foodie sites and puts it on one easy-to-click site! Love that!! I've discovered all sorts of different sites from the one. 

But on days it's REALLY slow at work (like during the month of August in a real estate recession when everyone is on vacation before school starts) or on a quiet Saturday or Sunday afternoon, I do my best work....clicking link to link to link. I start with a blog I know and go to their  blog roll (for those of you not too aware of the blogging world, most times you can find a list of "links" that the blogger has chosen. This way you get a sense of what that blogger is reading.  For example, mine is short, it's under Links That Make Me Happy.  I don't "follow" blogs or post other people's personal blogs on my own). Then I click from blog roll to blog roll and so on. I have discovered so many things.....people have stressful lives and wonderful lives and scary lives and yummy lives! I loved this quote I ran across this morning, "I write my truth – joyful, terrible, lovely, frightening, funny, and even shameful – because when I do, I learn that I’m not alone."

I guess I should say that I LOVE biographies and movies "based on a true story". I am a fierce believer that the truth makes for better story-telling than fiction.  So reading these random stories is just fascinating to me.  Mini-biographies of "regular people" with "real" lives - each one more different than the next. This morning I read about a woman whose husband left her with two small children and her hurt and fear was so vivid - I could feel her pain through the brightly flowered blog page. I knew her need to get the hurt out in written form - The healing process that she was venturing on. I read about a mom caring for a mentally ill child and about a family vacation to Niagara Falls that would make the Griswold's look "normal" and a family of faith that would inspire the hardest heart. 

It's remarkable what people share. I'm so glad they do.  It's shocking sometimes - but always interesting. What a fascinating world out there - the "world of bloggers" - random people with something they want to share.  Everybody has trouble - everybody has pain - everybody has disappointment and failure and strife. Lots have kids they are proud to show off, talents in the kitchen or excellent photography skills. But it's the honest writers I'm so drawn to. I love the real stories. I love the true honesty. I love the open way that people share and you realize that we are all similar - we are all human and the human struggle, while in very different forms, is very much the same. I encourage you to give a try - surf a little. See what's out there. It's a window into the lives of people today and it's really intriguing. I'm hooked!