The Explanation

Months after starting this blog, and many more months after reading others' blogs, I've decided it's time to jump in feet first and actually post to this thing. I figure if my mom can do it surely I can too (no offense Ma).

So I figure I should begin with why this place is titled *Explanation Required. Anyone who knows me well, and most of those that don't, can tell you that I'm a bit different than your average chick. Most will agree that I'm like a duck, in that I just let things roll right off me. Things that bother most people just don't bother me. And honestly, it's not because I'm wiser than anyone else, or somehow better equipped to deal with this stuff than anyone else; it's mainly because I don't even recognize that there's something to be bothered by. To tell you the truth, I think I'm just hardwired different.

Consequently, I can sometimes say things or do things to others that come off as a bit (or sometimes more than a bit) rude and condescending. It's (almost) never intentional and usually happens because it didn't occur to me that it could possibly be considered that way. It's the sideways glance from my sister or my husband that clues me in. My sister and a friend of mine were talking one day when the friend said, 'Your sister is a mystery to me.' After a little discussion Amanda responded by saying that I'm just one of those people that needs an explanation. Some others might have been a little miffed by this conversation, but I of course wasn't; instead I was quite amused. I loved the idea that my name should always be followed by a little asterisk with a footnote advising that an explanation was required.

And so there you have it. The explanation.