It's Your Turn

Some of the comments I get on this blog are really interesting and supportive. It helps with my emotional state to know that people are reading, that people care enough to be interested in what I have to say. Some of you have asked how I do it, how I find something to write about every day.

The truth is that it is easy; in fact not finding something to write about would be difficult. There is so much in the world to see, to comment on, to understand. As many of you know, I have never been short of opinions or ideas. I am a McBride, I have never had a lack of something to say nor a lack of opinion. Having ALS simply focuses the mind and topic space. All I have to do now is commit those thoughts and ideas to electronic paper.

The other reality is that working on a computer makes it so much easier to write. In the old days, before the keyboard and before the blog, writing would have been a mechanical exercise, one of paper and pen. As a youngster my teachers bemoaned my penmanship, thinking that it was the key to my future. What they didn't realize is that writing comes in many forms, not just through a pen. It's not penmanship, it's word-smithing.

The blog allows me to share more than just my opinions. It lets me share my emotional and physical state too. My cousin Doug's wife, Anita, says I should ask if any of you would like to do a guest posting, a space where you can share something. This link to life, this line of thought is so powerful to me that I don't know if I am willing to share this space. After all, who could imagine a McBride willingly sharing so visible a stage. We are, after all, from a long line of story tellers and drama kings.

Still, the quality of that thought grows on me. I wonder, if given the space, what you would have to say. Could you write six or eight paragraphs to share? My Mom does it on a daily basis, so I know some of you could. What would you write about? What would you have to say?

You see, one of the things I am slowly coming to realize is that my illness is not all about me. It affects so many people in so many ways, not just my family but my friends, my co-workers, those who share my life space and time.

So what would you say? Would you like a turn?