Why this blog . . .

Most of you know that we/I (well, Eliot, really) have a blog. It's been wonderful and fun (and will continue, so, to quote a favorite movie, "Nobody panic!"). Eliot's blog has been the perfect way to keep loved ones up to date on what's happening in our life while we're away for law school. It's been exciting to learn about the blogging world and HTML and all of the other available resources that make posting pictures, videos, text, etc. fun and interesting. It's even been overwhelming at times to have so much to want to post and only so much time. So why would I want to start up another one?!?

Well, maybe it's the writer in me. As much as I've loved trying to take on Eliot's "voice" and write from his perspective, it's limiting because it is, after all, the voice of a baby (and a boy, for that matter, and what do I know about boys?!). There have been so many times when I've thought of a topic I wanted to "blog" about, and yet it just didn't seem like it would work on Eliot's blog. So this will allow me to have a venue to post those introspective, oh-so-deep thoughts and allow Eliot's blog to be what it's evolved into -- a sweet, fun place to post all of the sweet, fun things he (and his parents) are up to, and we'll leave the heavy stuff to "Mom's blog."

So why the title? I don't know if I'll keep it forever, but it was kind of an idea that grew and then seemed to gel when I found the quote from President Hinckley's book. Since a blog is a way of representing through words and visuals who someone is, and thereby what they stand for, I thought I'd let this blog be about what "M" stands for (Monica, Mom, Marriage, McEuen, Mormon, and many, many other things).

For so long I've hesitated to get this blog going, wondering if the whole premise was too "preachy" and wondering if that might turn people off. But this week, after the recent passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley, the prophet of the church I belong to, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I've realized how much more I truly DO want to stand for something, just as he always did. I WANT to be associated with and stand for good things -- marriage, motherhood, family, love, honesty, creativity, joy, etc. -- and I'd love it all the more if I could stand for those things in the way that President Hinckley did: unapologetically, but humbly, sincerely, and always with a gentle sense of humor. So in honor of his life and in an effort to follow along that same path of goodness, here I go, attempting to stand for something in whatever small ways I can.