Empowered? Hell yes

The deadline for the super-fan-tab-ulous go to BlogHer contest ends tonight at midnight so I encourage all women who are interested in spending the last weekend of July in Chicago with some mega alpha female geeks to enter NOW.

Even if you aren't interested in that kind of weekend, there is another package to be won and it's filled with coolness to the nth degree.

And I suspect that at BlogHer there will be some shy women attending also. Shy ladies like me. Yes, I'll be the one hiding behind the potted plants, sticking my motherbumper cards into peoples handbags while they aren't looking.

But seriously - ENTER NOW because midnight is coming upon us quickly, quickly I say!

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Talking about that contest that brings me to the question that begs to be answered - how does blogging empower women or more specifically (because I'm like that) how has it empowered me?

Well because it's all about me.

No seriously, that's a huge part of it.

I know it sounds selfish but this is one of the few forums where I can talk without interruption.

In the blogsphere I am me. I'm not your daughter, sister, or mom. Those are roles where I usually have to wait my turn or just listen because that is what is needed from me (not expected or required but needed).

On my blog, I can start AND finish what I need to say. I can leave my rants up or take them back whenever I please. It's all about me and my opinions and you can't stop me.

Oh wait.

That's not entirely true. I need to back up a bit to give a better answer.

I actually don't speak freely here at this blog because of some uninvited readers who make me a bit uncomfortable in my own space. It's a free space so I don't ask them to leave and I've posted about it already. If they were meanies I'd ask them to leave, but they aren't mean. I just need to talk without self-censor for fear of how it will be understood.

So without beating a dead horse, I'm not as liberal with my blatherings as I like to be but I found a solution for that (interested in finding out my solution, just leave a comment or email me and I might tell you).

But that doesn't change the reasons why I feel empowered by blogging.

I have many stresses in my life. I never talk about these stresses in this forum and I don't share them with any friends. I carry a huge load on my back, a load I cannot drop and rarely break from.

If I spent all my time dwelling on these burdens (because that is what they are), I would be a shitty daughter, sister, friend, mom and wife. I would sit in my chair and rock all day long while staring at the wall. I would be a mess.

I'm not kidding.

Blogging forces me to keep my mind sharp and focused. Focused on the positive, the joys, the world around me, the people I love. If I had to give up blogging, I would slip down into that mire called depression (or more specifically, depressive episodes), something I've experienced too many times before.

I love to blog.

I discovered after I started blogging, that events and triggers that once sent me sinking suddenly became more manageable. I could write an emotional, ticking time-bomb post (or 50) save it to draft and there it would stay. Out of my head (sorta), easy to visit and read at a more manageable time. Just like that teenage diary I gave up so long ago. I could purge the greasy, sticky, goop that blurs my vision and clean my lens on the world.

I'm not saying it's a cure but blogging is my therapy. I control the office hours and the sliding payment scale from zero to zero suits my budget just fine.

Motherbumper is 100% empowered by the Publish Now button.

I am the only one who can press that button, no one interrupts my train of thought and I still have the pleasure (most of the time) to hear what others think of my posts. I hear other opinions, opinions I respect (most of the time), and comments that make me feel less alone in this adventure called life.

I'm more than a daughter, sister, mom, wife, or friend. Here in the blogsphere, I'm Motherbumper.

I'm me and there is nothing you can do to stop it.