Reject #5

Title: Deep Stuff

Date: February 1st, 2010

It's been a while since we've talked.

No, I mean really talked. About important, deep stuff.

Oh, no I didn't mean right now. I mean someday we should we should just get really deep, you know?

Did I tell you our dryer broke last week?

Thank you, you are so thoughtful. Yes, it was a pain. But you know what is really fun?

The laundry mat. Seriously, you should take your kids there.

Those carts they have-- they are a blast. I'm thinking about getting one.

Not really actually. Have you seen The Amytiville Horror?

Me neither, but I was reading about it in the laundry mat while my kids were running around with the carts. At least, it said it was the Amytiville Horror Story but when I got home and looked it up on Wikipedia, it was a completely different story. Still, it was creepy.

Well, I won't tell my husband you said that about Wikipedia. I think it was the magazine that got it all wrong. Get this, it was a Redbook from 1988.

Seriously, in mint condition. There was a whole pile of magazines from 1988 in the laundry mat. I don't know what was creepier, the freaky ghost story, or the 80's flashback. That thing was full of big hair and even bigger blazers. And Loni Anderson.

No, I'm pretty sure she's still alive. But the really scary thing is that women's magazines haven't changed at all. I was reading all the same articles in the check out line at Albertsons this morning. The only difference is back in 1988 the answer to the "how to dress for your body type" question involved high-waisted pants and shoulder pads.

Shoulder pads are coming back? Oh, please kill me now.

Oh. Really? I mean, um, no- yeah, you'd look great in shoulder pads.

No, don't return it-- I'm sure it's totally cute. Forget that. All I'm saying is, you would think after 22 years, women's journalism would have evolved a little. Have a little more substance you know?

It's a good thing we can talk about deep stuff.

We really should talk more often.

Notes: When I wrote this, it seemed like I hadn't been blogging much at the time. So it started with the "It's been a while" line, and it took on a life of its own from there. It's all true; I did spend a morning at the laundry mat with the kids, reading the so-called true story about a haunted house in a 1988 Redbook. And it did say it was the Amytiville story, but it really wasn't. And those laundry carts really are a blast. And women's journalism drives me crazy. But as far as not publishing this post, here's what happened: I got hung up on the shoulder pad thing. I must have reworked that line 50 times, and eventually it just killed it. Death by regrettable 80's fashion trends, I guess. But I think it illustrates something interesting about blogging, at least blogging for me. Reworking something over and over is not always a good thing. By the 73rd time I'd looked at it, I'd long since begun questioning it. Is anyone even going to get this? Or worse, are they going to get it and think, "WOW, that was lame." Or, "I wish this lady would just go back to posting pictures of her kids that I'm stalking." Could my 4 year old write better stuff than this? OK, well yes, that's entirely possible. But what's the worst that could happen? It is really lame and I only get one comment and it's just a bunch of links to buy shoes online? I could live with that. It's happened before. All I'm saying is, that publish button can be a scary thing sometimes.