chou chope

the holidays are about family, and this year mine has grown exponentially. early this year, i discovered eric's blog. he was bookmarked in my random crap drawer (no offense daddy-o, but i was too ignorant to know what i had found.) pretty soon i was frequenting the place and soon after that, i basically orphaned myself on his doorstep.

fast forward to present, it's my first christmas in the gig-a-gene pool. unreal. i'm as tore up as a tot. this year, thanks to the blog world, i've met some of the most interesting people i've ever known, i've read many things that i never imagined i'd see in print, and i've learned so much about nothing, it boggles the mind.

blog family, like a real family, teach you many things. they nurture and torture the same as well. take linky love, for instance. a concept that my childhood blog brain couldn't grasp. that kind of love is a double edged sword. hey, no doubt someone in your blog family loves you when they put up a link or drop you a comment that trumps your post. it's like you brought home an A+. come home from work beaten and blown to find uncle denny or sister feisty liked something you wrote? you inspired your inspiration? nice feeling.

then there's the deep dark family secrets. c'mon, if you're the spawn of a normal dysfunctional american family then i bet you have some secrets tucked away in the family shed. we do also in the blog fam. tales of turbulence from days gone by, things we don't speak of or let on to the outside world. a family joined by written word that keeps some touchy issues out of print.

and then there's reunion time. blogmeets, they are the shite. a chance to talk til dawn with your identical cousin, or get a ribbing from one of your crazy uncles. it's all good.

thanks for christmas present, my blog bretheren and my silent lurkers. you have absolutely made this year more memorable and more meaningful that anything i expected to experience when google cast me your way.