Why I Don't Have a Blog - NEW!

As long as O.J.'s making hypothetical confessions, I might as well come forward myself: I don't have a blog called Special Focus about parenting kids with special needs. No sirree. Why not? Because I am not a special needs parent. I'm not even a parent. Or a wife. Or a woman. I'm a person, that's all. Just a regular old human.

I don't have a blog called Special Focus because I don't wish to grapple in such a public way with the difficulties life has thrown me, put them at the forefront of my daily concerns. I don't want to focus on my trials and tribulations. I'd rather not think about them at all. Which is one of the reasons I'm a fiction writer, not a blogger of special needs issues.

Why would I have a blog called Special Focus when my views might upset others, especially family and friends? Worse than that, speaking my mind might alienate teachers and faculty, and others in the special ed community, upon whom I'm dependent to help my child.

I'll admit I've entertained the notion of having such a blog. I imagine it could be therapeutic to write about my experiences. One could even argue that it fills a need for other parents of special needs kids, knowing there's someone else out there struggling with the same issues they are. Still, do I wish to proclaim to the world, "Hey, I'm a special needs parent!" like I'm proud of being somewhat of a victim? Do I want people, when they hear my name, to think of disabilities?

A few years back, my kitchen was featured in a home design magazine. In the article, the author referred to me as "young mother 'Smith'". Please! Not that there's anything wrong with being a young mother, but couldn't I at least have been pictured with spit-up stains on my blouse or Goldfish crackers coming out my ears, something to earn me such a title? Why couldn't I be "Do-It-Yourselfer Smith" or "amateur kitchen designer Smith" (or "dazzlingly beautiful Smith")?!

To tell you the truth, what I really would have liked is "brilliant writer Smith" but "young mother and writer" would be fine. Or just Writer. And since I don't have a blog called Special Focus, I don't have to worry that others will think I love writing about special needs issues, instead of writing fiction, which is where my heart is. That may be what I want people to know about me...but I'm not going to sit here and blog about it.