Seems like a good day to start a blog

I've noticed a few of my friends have blogs. I also watched Julie & Julia on a flight from Liberia, Costa Rica to Newark, New Jersey and decided if Julie can blog about cooking through Julia Child's cookbook, then I can blog about pretty much anything.

When I was 3 years old I had a journal. Not a spiral bound adolescent journal with unicorns on the cover and lined paper, but a real, black with gold trim leather bound, blank bond paper filled, adult-like journal.

Like most 3 year old kids, I was pretty much illiterate except for my name and the word candy that I would scribble in crayon on the magnetic grocery list pad stuck on the fridge. So before bedtime, my Mother and I would sit on the couch, snuggled under an old navy blue and orange handmade Afghan blanket (Go 'Cuse!) and I would tell her what to write in my journal. Unedited, unadulterated, pure and raw 3 year old thoughts. I should add I also had a mullet at this age because my hair didn't grow in on the sides as quickly as it did in the back.

Throughout my journal entries, there were two recurring themes, the phrases; Greetings Good Fellow and My Heart Beats Only For Me.

I picked up "Greetings Good Fellow" from the Count on Sesame Street. I thought this was such a cool way to say hello, and much like the word "Aloha", I would use "Greetings Good Fellow" as both a greeting and closing in my journal and in person with my Kinder-Care friends. I'm not sure who the Good Fellow is/was, but this phrase resonated with my little 3 year old desire to be unique.

After my standard Sesame Street greeting, I would ask my Mother to write "My heart beats only for me" and on occasion proceed to explain why and/or how it beats only for me. My Mom says this marked the beginning of my self-absorption, an attribute I picked up from my Dad's side of the family. I like to think it was my way of asserting my presence in this world, finding my place in the sun and at 3 years old recognizing that I am my own person.

Not surprisingly, 22 years later, my heart still beats only for me. Maybe that is why I am recently single? Just kidding. But, much like my black and gold leather bound journal captured my thoughts and reflections at 3 years old, I suppose this blog serves the same purpose. And while I no longer need my Mom to help me express my thoughts on a particular day, I'm sure she would agree that "my heart beats only for me" is still an applicable mantra of my existence.