but why?

Why are we on earth? What is the purpose of life? Don't come to me with those big question. I will answer the 'but why' question that people ask as to why I left FB (even if it turns out to be temporary):
I read these two books:  'Dragnet Nation' and 'The Big Disconnect'. Both of them are about me. No, not about me as if I starred personally in them, but I feel correctly described by a lot of what these authors are talking about. And not always in a good, in-control kind of a way. I'm not really good at rehashing other people's thoughts, for fear of distorting them with my own bias, but I honestly think those books deserve to be read. The latter, especially, seems so important for parents of kids of all ages. Some of this reading was tough (especially without a glass of scotch in my hands...), but I hope, therapeutic.

A second aspect is that I often lament to my husband about the disappearing of community. I sometimes feel as though a lot of things that used to be covered by neighborly exchange of favors is now (or here?) taken care of by commercial entities (dog sitting, lawn mowing, driveway plowing, babysitting, airport driving, etc). So I decided to become more involved with community making in flesh and blood, in the shape of engaging with people and groups that aim to embody the kind of community spirit I am searching for.

It is actually going better than I thought, so far, the mostly hands-free lifestyle. It helps to start on some great books and a knitting project, to keep the hands busy during boring hours waiting on hallways at the music school, or at gymnastics. I didn't post that video of my youngest daughter learning to ride a bicycle :-). And I did have both hands free to catch her when she got too wobbly while balancing on a log through the muddy patch where we checked on our favorite skunk cabbages.

Focus on the most important, a work in progress.