New Year! New Me?

Happy 2012! With the start of the new year, I've committed to a variety of new things (please don't call them resolutions), including building this blog and creating a robust, supportive and informative (possibly informed?) virtual community through it, too.

I've had this delusional goal before, but life always seems to get in the way. Here I sit, though, on the second morning of the new year, really wanting to do this -- wanting it more than many of the things that I spend my day doing, and I do believe it will be time well spent. Interestingly, as I type this, our 15-year-old-son is completing his application to a summer conference in which he could learn more about self-advocacy and leadership. I think it's time for Mom to lead and self-advocate a little more, too. So...blogging it is.

My call for help is that I'd really love your advice and ideas on how to build readership, comments and general interest in this blog -- no idea is a bad one, I promise. What topics to cover? How much ranting is too much? Who else would you like to hear from? How can I make this vehicle most useful to other families and individuals?

Out with the old habits and in with the new. Posting every six months just isn't good enough. Life gets in the way, sure. But if that happens again, it's a sign I need to stop blogging, I think.

Won't you please start you new year off right and let me know your suggestions?

Work for Change at Any Age

With back-to-school season upon us, I thought it was worth pointing out something great that just happened in Kansas. According to local media, students at Lawrence High School recently overhauled their homecoming rules so all students are eligible to serve on the homecoming court. This is really inspiring, especially given that many school districts across the country still don't fully comply with ADA laws, which were enacted more than 20 years ago.

I was never a homecoming queen, but I remember this part of high school quite fondly and am thrilled that kids in Lawrence care enough to include everyone. 800 signatures is a lot. So refreshing to see this behavior instead of reading about people who burn the Koran. Even the youngest people in our society can challenge unjust laws and outdated "rules."

Teach your kids to advocate for things that matter to them. It really does make a difference.