Brave New World

Sept. 9, 2008

I come to the table a little unprepared. I've never blogged before but decided I wanted to document life in Los Angeles for my 1 1/2 year-old daughter, C. I'm not a native, I was born in Oklahoma, so I'm offering a parent's glimpse into a city that my child will always consider home.

That's not to say I arrived straight from the Dust Bowl itself. I've been here for six years now after also having lived in New York, Hamburg and Amherst, Mass. In time, I'll be able to share with C photos and stories of what it was like to live in those places. But those are memories, and their day-to-days have been lost. What I hope for with this blog is that I'll be able to show her exactly where she was, exactly what her mother and father were experiencing, on any given day.

Maybe she'll find that boring. Heck, some days really are boring, and who can predict what a child will think? But, if she's anything like her mother, she'll be interested in visiting the past ... her past ... through pictures and words, hoping to put the pieces together in a puzzle that will never really be finished.

So, as I said, I come to the table somewhat unprepared. I have no fascinating L.A. item or place about which I'm posting. But that will come. What I do have is a picture of my beautiful little girl looking out at the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, something I didn't see until I was 12. I also wanted to introduce myself and say that I'm just getting started.

- Laura