My Very Own NaBloShoeMo

Once upon a time, a group of people with authorial ambition but absolutely no motivation to actually produce a written work came up with this idea. They decided to set aside one month of the year and write every single day with the goal of, at month’s end, having finished a novel. To help them stay focused and motivated, they banded together and promised each other to stick to the writing regimen, creating a sort of collective accountability. And so, National Novel Writing Month was born. And because people are just that lazy, they gave it a cute nickname, “NaNoWriMo,” to save everyone the time and energy of those extra four syllables.

The blogosphere, not wanting to be left out of the fun (but not wanting to actually write a novel, because that’s just crazy), came up with its own counterpart to NaNoWriMo – NaBloPoMo, or, in its less diminutive version, National Blog Posting Month. The basic premise is the same: a blogger joins a group of like-minded bloggers and agrees to post something every day for a month. The desired outcome is less clear, at least to me, as there is no real “finished product” at the end of the month, the way a novel – in theory – comes out of NaNoWriMo. But still, a similar idea.

Now, I heard of NaNoWriMo for the first time last year. The idea was intriguing to me, but only as an abstract. I was certainly never interested in actually participating in the insanity. I’m not sure I have the attention span for writing a novel, though as I accumulate more and more material, I rethink that…

NaBloPoMo, however, was new to me just this year, and at face value, seems like the kind of thing I would have signed on to do. So why didn’t I? For one, I wasn’t sure my schedule would actually allow me the time to post every single day. (Given my general malaise of the past month, and especially my time in the hospital, this turns out to have been a valid concern.) But even without the logistical impracticalities, I was uncomfortable agreeing to post something every day when I couldn’t guarantee it would be something good. I didn’t want to have to return to the days of “Don’t really have much to say, but wanted to say something. Sorry for the boring post – I’ll try to think of something better for tomorrow.” And I was relatively certain those days would come, and I’d feel guilty for copping out. So while I liked the concept, and cheered those who did sign up (yay Mocha! Aly! Teacher Anonymous!), I steered clear for myself.

But then Mocha introduced me to a new and completely fabtacular idea: National Blogging Shoe Month, or NaBloShoeMo (yep, we’re still abbreviating, though we’re now saving only three syllables). Thirty days, thirty pairs of shoes, one picture per day. Is this or is this not just perfect for me?! It sure seemed that way.

Unfortunately, by the time I learned of NaBloShoeMo, I was already feeling pretty craptastic, and certainly by the start of the month – when the shoe posting bonanza was to begin – I was in no mood for such frivolity. But a part of me wanted to do it so badly, because, as we’ve already seen, I do have very cute shoes. Instead, I sat back and watched Mocha post her sexy, fun, trendy, adorable shoes and brooded in my depression.

But now I’ve started feeling a bit better. Oh, I’m not cured, by any means, and I’d say doing something so trivial and light still feels like a complete farce at least half the time, given my heavy thoughts these days. But I’m trying to move forward, to get back to being me. Celebrating the awesomeness of my shoes seems like it would be a good way to start that.

So yes, I realize NaBloShoeMo is November, not December, and that technically I missed it. But I have decided to declare December LaBloShoeMo – Lara’s Blogging Shoe Month (wow, that one only saves two syllables!). Starting Friday, I will post a picture a day and you all can fawn over my beautiful footwear.

And, as an added bonus to my waiting an extra month, I get to do 31 pairs instead of 30! Now, how to choose my favorite 31 flavo- er, pairs…