I suppose there's an obligatory "About Me" that comes with starting a blog. Here are the cold, hard facts: I was born Kaitlin Nicole and now proudly carry the name Kaitlin Nicole Rose thanks to the great Sacrament of Confirmation. I'm 24 and have been married to Ted since August 9th, 2008. We're coming up on a year and a half of marriage!
I've got two younger sisters, a mom and a dad, two sister-in-laws, one brother-in-law, a father-in-law, a mother-in-law, and a stepfather-in-law.
I'm originally from Missouri and now live in Mississippi while Ted gets his master's in Fisheries Science. I have my bachelor's and master's in Speech-Language Pathology from Missouri State University and work as a speech-language pathologist (SLP) for a local school district. I work with about 50 preschool aged children that have everything from a "simple" speech-sound disorder to a severe language and developmental delay. Some of my kids have Autism, others have Down's Syndrome, most of them talk, some of them don't, all of them are beautiful and loved.
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Now that that's out of the way...What's in a name. The main thing holding me back from starting a blog (apart from the fear that no one will want to read it, that I'll sound stupid, and that I'll expose my thoughts and beliefs to people who may hold them against me) was coming up with a title. Nothing was coming to mind. I thought about titling it after certain issues that are heavily pressing on me at the moment-but I want this to be long term and those issues are hopefully NOT long term (more on this later). I wanted the title to represent my life as a whole-not just one aspect of it. And for reasons of pride and self-esteem, I wanted the title to be "cool" and "catchy"-of which I am neither. And although I even googled "How to Title a Blog", the decided upon title really just popped into my head (although I do suspect the workings of my guardian angel).
Upon reading the title one might assume that I have a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, but one would be wrong. I WANT a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. And these are two very different things. I guess my hope is that in trying to keep my blog along the lines of conforming my life to Mary's example I will actually be ABLE to conform my life to Mary's example! Don't get me wrong-I love Our Lady. I've been blessed to have been raised Catholic my entire life and am honored and privileged to be a part of the Church that upholds Our Lady and teaches fundamental truths about her life and her role in our lives. I just haven't gotten to the point in my life when I can truly call her a friend. I'm working on it-and this blog is my biggest step yet!
My original thought was to title it "More Like Mary~Less Like Me" meaning that I wanted to rid myself of the vices and sinful tendencies I possess and take on the virtues and good nature of the Blessed Virgin. I realize, however, that becoming LESS like myself isn't necessarily a honorable goal. In His infinite wisdom (or great sense of humor), God made me the way I am and there is little I can do to change that. I can, however, become MORE "me" and improve myself to make a better "me".
I realize that many of my friends/readers may not be Catholic and possess the same love for Mary as we Catholics do. And that's ok-just know that the purpose of this blog is to chronicle my life as I strive to become a better person, to model my life after an amazing, historical woman (and mother) who made all the right decisions while she walked on this earth. No matter your faith background, I think that's a goal that everyone can relate to.
And now, let the journey....begin!
