Blame It On Phil Donahue

I blame Phil Donahue.  After centuries of going to experts for the answers, Phil is purportedly the first person to shove a microphone into Joe Plumber's face and say, "But what do you think?"  The experts on stage squirm in their seats, mentally calculating whether the cost of their PhDs were worth it, when Joe Schmoe is allowed to chime in with all the machismo of a guy who earned his GED at age 22.

And so it begins, the downward slide, until so many bored stay-at-home moms are blogging, all the while complaining that their houses are a mess and there's never enough time to get the clean laundry put away.

Guilty as charged.  Except that I'm no longer a stay-at-home mom, now I'm juggling a 30 hour a week job, a total of 5 kids counting the Korean exchange students who are packed like sardines into my home, and with all the aforementioned laundry piling up so that my family thinks laundry baskets are plastic dressers that come in pretty colors.

I'll be honest:  I am not an expert.  I'm like every other person in Phil Donahue's audience, busy with my life but still filled with thoughts and opinions that probably matter squat to every viewer sitting at home.  Except that I love to write.  Love to write.  And love to ponder, wonder, question and pray -- and make the presumptuous assumption that my conclusions are worth sharing.  Some might be, and at other times I'll probably be the idiot who grabs the mic from Phil and stammers out a bunch of hooey that leaves the viewing audience begging for a return to the PhD on stage.  That's okay.  It's still nice to hold the mic every once in awhile, even if no one is listening.  At the very least it's a place to vent, and maybe someone will be encouraged in the process.