Musings of a Whimsical Realist

This month, a trend went through Facebook like a wave.  I must admit to extreme relief that it wasn't a posting competition arguing for Team Edward or Team Jacob (newsflash, you can declare either team, but it doesn't change the end of the story).  Indeed, the postings were of a much more introspective nature.  Once a day, every day, from November 1st through Thanksgiving, many of my Facebook friends shared something for which they are thankful. "Thankfulness" is defined as "warm friendly feelings of gratitude."  [You may soon realize that I LOVE dictionary definitions.  It's a hazard of majoring in English.]  As a mom of three little ones, I spend a good portion of my day teaching them to be thankful.  "Firstborn" is learning about the warm, friendly part of being thankful -- which means that the words and the tone of voice must match.  "Girl-Twin" and "Boy-Twin" (21 months) are still learning the habit of saying (or usua

For some time now, I have thought that I should start a blog.  Why?  Firstly, so I can stop driving my friends crazy with super-long Facebook status updates.  I mean, really, who wants to read two paragraphs in a status?  Secondly, because I love to write -- it is how my heart communicates best.  And thirdly, because I really shouldn't let all of this wisdom go unshared! [wink, wink]  As soon as I decided that it was time to start my blog, the name just came to me.  BLAM!  Like a lightning strike.  Musings of a Whimsical Realist.  Musings seemed obvious enough: "A discourse intended to express its author's reflections or to guide others in contemplation" (Merriam-Webster).  But the real fun lies in the last two words.  A Whimsical Realist.  Whimsy is defined as " the quality or state of being whimsical or fanciful" whereas Realism is defined as " concern for fact or reality and rejection of the impractical and visionary."  A contradiction in term