this blog thing makes an interesting record, since I've only opened it at select moments when I'm in a space to hopefully open up and find a flow. don't have any urgent topics to discuss, any serious information to impart.

raising kids challenges your concepts of how a "good life" should be lived. it begs for you to offer guidance and advice, and so often I felt I just came up short. Still do. I can't pretend to know better than anyone else, and wouldn't presume my experiences to provide a good model for anyone. For example, my former bent for theatricality and comic relief didn't lead me anywhere in particular.

Yet all three of our kids have taken to theater in varying degrees: the oldest writing plays and acted in several through college; the second a drama major like mom and dad, at their alma mater; the third who made a splash in comedy revue sketches and loves to sing for others. I absolutely love that, and like most parents, live vicariously through them.

They make me want to gather courage and rediscover some of the bravado. So in a way, they become the role models, which is pretty cool.