By the Book(marks)

I've just noticed something.

When the kids were little, we moved several times, and I notice the pictures had variants of the same plank & cinderblock bookshelves, with the books changing or changing order or placement, and that was how I could tell where the picture had been taken. As our interests changed, or our relationships to grad schools or employment changed, as the kids grew and changed, so changed the books on the shelves. Our photos showed the growth patterns.

(If your bookshelf fetish is as strong as mine, check out these pictures from apartmenttherapy - be prepared to swoon)

Since home computers and internet access have become ordinary for people, there has been another way to keep track of life's morphs. (Can I use the verb morph as a noun, I wonder?)

Bookmarks! I've just noticed something about my electronic bookmarks! It used to be cookery, craft sites, and education, education, education (for my kids, who were doing their educations from home for their younger years). But now it's cookery, an occasional craft site, some saints and liturgy stuff (for the parish newsletter and bulletin inserts), education, education, education (mine this time! yay!), and ... and ... (TA! dada Daaaaaaah!) a whole section for Writers and Writing. My Bloglines web crawler, and my other bookmarks as well - evidence - I have evidence - I'm finally shifting over my life, and being much more conscious and deliberate and interested and attentive to Writers and Writing.

It's a bit like admitting to being a woman. A Caucasian woman with pale skin and slowing graying hair. Who's just turned fifty. The writerly part of me is as true and real as the teacherly part and the pale skin part and the years since birth part. The bookmarks - they're evidence of my morphs.

What are YOUR bookmarks telling you? Leave me a comment! I'd love to know.