My New Friend Ree

I’ve mentioned before that I read a lot of blogs.  This makes sense really, because I love to read, and my favorite books are always memoirs.  So it would figure that I would love to read about real people’s lives.  I’ve always had an uncanny talent for predicting fiction.  I can almost ALWAYS figure out the end of a book before I’m a quarter of the way through it (with the exception of Little Bee, but I’ll save that for another post).  It’s the same story with TV shows and movies.  So I love the unpredictability of reading along with someone as they narrate their life.

One weird side effect to this though, is feeling like I’m friends with people who I don’t know, will never meet – and generally never even contact.  I’m not a big commenter, even on sites I frequent.  There are blogs I’ve been reading for years that I’ve never commented on, or maybe just commented once.  But that certainly doesn’t make me feel like I know these people any less.  For example, one of my favorite bloggers recently got engaged, and after years of reading about the ups and downs of her dating life, I was as happy for her as if she were a dear friend. 

The opposite can happen as well.  There are a few blogs I’ve read where over time I’ve genuinely begun to dislike the blogger.  One who was just so crass I finally had to quit reading, even though I felt like I was invested in her life.  One who genuinely seems like a good person, but she recently starting being really nasty and immature in the comments section when someone had something negative to say.  I understand what a negative comment feels like, and it doesn’t feel good.  It can be a very personal attack, which you do open yourself up to just by having a blog.  But willingly putting yourself out there doesn’t necessarily mean you’re excited about being annihilated in the comments section.  However, her responses were so disappointing that I’ve just stopped reading her altogether.  I read plenty of blogs written by people whose beliefs, politics, life choices, etc. differ vastly from mine, and that’s all good – it’s an insight into a life lived differently than mine, but I just can’t get behind ugliness.

So back to my new friend Ree.  I’ve recently taken the time to read some of the archives of Confessions of a Pioneer Woman - specifically the story of how she met her husband, which she titled "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels".  I’ve always loved the cooking section of her blog, but never really read beyond it.  I have discovered that I adore this woman.  I’d rather read her archives than the next book I have waiting on the nightstand.  Which brings us to another side effect of blog-loving…feeling a bit like a weird stalker.  Maybe if I commented more I wouldn’t feel that way – but I’m not sure that’s really the fix.  It’s kind of like having imaginary friends.  I know every detail of their life, but it’s kind of all in my head since they don’t actually know I exist.  Oh well, weird stalker or not, I love my blogs and bloggers.  Tell me I’m not the only one who feels this way??