Blog Hacking: Joel Speaks

With my newborn baby -- our third daughter -- cradled in my arms, I paced the family room floor, hushing and rocking, back-patting and spit-up wiping, and ultimately, coming to an unlikely middle-of-the-night conclusion that it was time to launch a blog.

That was two years (and over 500 blog posts) ago.

As I look back, I realize that this was one of my better impetuous decisions.  After all, considering that I was sleep deprived and hormonally unstable, I could have opted to do something equally rash but much less productive, like getting a drastic haircut or eating a regrettable amount of chocolate.  Instead, Pink Dryer Lint was born.

This upcoming weekend, I'll be joining with other bloggers as I attend my first blogging conference.  Allume has invited the husbands of the 2012 attendees to hack their wives' blogs and provide a post.  So, please let me introduce you to Joel, the man who compliments me so well.  He'll take it from here.

When Robin began blogging, my one caveat was that if she ever told a story that I was a part of, that I'd be the hero.  You know... the myth, the man, the legend.  Over the years she's shared countless stories of our lives, but never once has she mentioned me fighting crime or my feats of superhuman strength.  I'm still holding out hope.

Robin, on the other hand, shows many characteristics of a hero.  Through the ordinary course of a day, she shows an amazing devotion and kindness toward those around her.  She makes people feel special.  I think that's part of why Robin's blog connects with so many mothers.  I've seen firsthand some of the lives that Robin has affected, everything from the man who reads her blog to better understand his wife, or to the young mom who recently stopped me at church to tell me that she just plowed through the last two years of the blog in two long sittings.

Last night I planned on going to be early.  Instead, I stayed up an extra 45 minutes reading Robin's new book, Then I Became a Mother.  It brought me back to our first few years of parenthood together, and it reminded me how happy I am that we're in this together.

After all, every great hero needs a heroine.