Since the online version of article on women bloggers didn’t have any pictures, I went downstairs and bought a hard copy of today’s Chicago Tribune. I then reread the article (which I really enjoyed) and stared at my picture (lovely!), which received top billing on the front page of the woman news section. After sitting there for about 15 minutes, I started to think about what I had done by agreeing to be profiled. Part of the reason for keeping an online journal is to record my life journey and in doing so, I’ve tried to be as open as possible about what I’m thinking, doing and feeling. Years from now I want to look back and reflect on what things were like for me then. But as I sat there reading the paper, I wondered if things would ever be the same and whether or not the larger audience would cause me to self-censor. I wondered whether or not I could still continue to be so open and honest knowing that more people from my real world were reading my weblog. Feeling panicky about it all, I called my older sister in Boston. After reading the story, she did manage to calm me down in between bouts of laughter. At one point during the call, I had to put her on hold and it was a former coworker calling to congratulate me on the profile. She wondered why I hadn’t told her it was coming out. My response: “I was trying to keep it on the down low.” Somehow, I’m not sure that’s possible; already I’ve had 83 unique visitors this morning. That’s more than I get in a typical day. I even got an email from a former coworker who urged me to get out more as based on “the few entries she read it sounds like I’m depressed.” True, I haven’t been my happy outgoing self lately, but that’s because I have a stressful job, recently had a major health scare and I’m just now getting over a wicked cold. So yes, it’s been a rough last few weeks and so my writing has been somewhat dark. But anyone who’s read me these last 8 months will know that I have a pretty active social life. Good lord! What have I done? In getting back to my sister who was cracking up while rereading some of my earlier stories, she said: “good luck with all the fans.” Thanks I replied. Thanks!