Introducing . . .

Bethie has been asking to start a blog for several months now. I'm not one of those moms who automatically says, "Why yes, sweetie!" I need to think, to ponder, to weigh every option with every conceivable outcome.

Growing up, my dad taught me to pull out my pad of paper, draw a line down the middle and label my columns: Pros and Cons. It helped. So this is what I do. Not always literally, but my brain draws that line and I weigh the options.

The only "con" on Bethie's blog list was my suspicion that she liked the idea of it more than the work of it. So I tested her on the practice of finishing a project. She was in the middle of three different books at the time, flitting from one read to the next and ignoring some that she had started months earlier. I assumed my motherly tone and explained the value of finishing what one has started. Take, for example, the pile of novels at her bedside. She was quick to deduce, "So, as soon as I finish these books, I can start a blog?" I agreed. She sat on the family room couch for three days and read. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm came to a close, and she ended up loving something that she had put off for weeks. (Funny how that happens sometimes.)

So this weekend, I carried out my end of the deal. Introducing, Bethie's blog: Mudpie.

(Now, if you'll excuse me for a few days. I have about three books to go finish.)