Why I'm a Blogger, Not a Radio Host

I'm feeling like a bit of a doofus right now.

We have XM Radio in our family car, and whenever I'm running errands or trekking to and from school, I often listen to The Catholic Channel. Today as I was out and about, I caught a little bit of "The Catholics Next Door" with Greg and Jennifer Willits. They were talking to a writer and blogger (I wish I could remember the person's name! Please remind me if you know) from CatholicMom.com, and who often blogs on Faith & Family Live. She talked about how writing and blogging helps her grow in her faith, and they got into the subject of social networking and how we can use the Internet to evangelize and help each other in our walk with Christ. As I was pulling into my driveway, thinking of the things I needed to do now that I was home, Greg invited listeners who have blogs or websites to call the show and share how we use social networking to reach others. Hmmmm, I thought; do I really want to go on live radio (nationwide, no less) and plug my measly little blog? Oh, what the heck; this might be a good time for me to thank Greg and Jennifer for the work they do, sharing their own joys and struggles as Catholic parents, and helping me have the courage to share my Catholic faith with others.

I have called The Catholic Channel once before, on Gus Lloyd's "Seize The Day" program; in that call I explained the pros and cons of watching NASCAR on TV. This should be a piece of cake, right? Not so much. My heart started beating just a little faster when the call screener picked up, and when I heard Greg's voice in my phone say, "Sharon, from Virginia, welcome to The Catholics Next Door!" I immediately forgot about two-thirds of what I wanted to say. If you were listening, you heard something like this. "I started blogging in January of this year. My blog is called Musings of a Catholic Mom, and it's on Blogger. Umm, I try to post once or twice a week...I'm a little jealous of other busy moms who find time to blog every day. Uh... (awkward pause) Oh, and it's really helped me grow in my faith, and it's put me in touch with other bloggers who are Catholic moms like me. It's great. (dead silence while Greg and Jennifer wait for me to say more) Uh, yeah!" Thankfully Greg looked me up and gave the url for this site, which I forgot to mention (shoulda made the url and the title the same, dang it), and then Jennifer and Greg both thanked me for calling into the show.

I hope the neighbors didn't see me beating my head against the steering wheel.

OK, I didn't really beat my head against anything, but I ended the call wishing I had said more about the things I blog about, maybe talk about other blogs I enjoy reading, and mention to Jennifer that I'm proud to have her as my friend on Faith & Family Connect. I wanted to ask the writer/blogger who was on the show how she found time to blog regularly, write a book, and still do all the other tasks that a mom finds herself needing to do? It can take me up to a couple of hours to finish one post, depending on how many pictures and links I include, the length of the post, and how much time I spend going back and re-reading and making changes. I can't do that every day, which is why I have many more ideas for blogs than I actually post. (I've spent about forty minutes here so far; when I'm done and ready to publish, I'll give you all the total time spent on this post. I hope with my newer, faster computer my blogging time will be quicker.) Worst of all, I neglected to thank Greg and Jennifer for their courage to share their profound faith with their listeners, and for the work that they do for the Catholic faith. (In addition to hosting a three-hour radio show, they also run a fabulous non-profit organization called Rosary Army; check it out here!)

Here's a little side note: I happened to notice that the editorial director of Faith & Family Live, Danielle Bean, wrote a book called My Cup of Tea: Musings of a Catholic Mom. It might be time to change the name of this blog soon. I follow Therese at "The Musings of a Mom"; guess I shoulda checked out other blog titles before picking mine. I don't want anyone to be confused. Hmmmm...what to call it?

The next time I call in to a radio show, I guess I should write down what I plan to say. I wonder if this is how President Obama feels when he has to give a speech without a teleprompter?

Total time: One hour. Not bad; I didn't use pictures.