Why "Chatterlines"? Why now?

As the creator of "Chatterlines," I come to you as a longtime journalist -- just one in the thundering herd of dinosaurs fleeing newspaper burial grounds, trying to avoid extinction. My younger colleagues tell me that to survive "The End of Life as We Know It" in the print world, we all need to blog.

The concept isn’t entirely new to me. I’ve actually had three moderately successful blogs over the last two years. Each ran its natural course. The first, “Empty Nesting,” was posted to the Loudoun Times-Mirror Web site in Leesburg, Va., from June to October 2007, after my youngest son graduated from high school and left for college.

When my husband and I discovered that we, too, wanted to escape our empty nest, we sought out theater productions to fill our many free (read: lonely) evenings. In a natural progression, “Empty Nesting” morphed into “Backstage,” as I wrote about community theater for The Fairfax Times in Fairfax County, Va. I had a great time reviewing musicals and plays -- and meeting directors, actors and stage crews -- after scooping up my complimentary tickets at the box offices.

“Backstage” came to an abrupt end a year ago when that same youngest son was diagnosed with cancer. Biopsies and endless consults with doctors at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and later at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md., left no time to languish at the theater. May 2008 brought a diagnosis of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma and more than nine months of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

During that time I kept a private blog via the CarePages Web site. I wrote about everything -- from the mind-blowing to the seemingly insignificant -- related to our cancer journey. As David’s treatment wound down, and particularly after he returned to college in February, I started filling the CarePage with family news instead of cancer updates.

The other day David revolted. Threatening to hold the CarePage hostage by changing the password and denying me access, he asked that I no longer fill the page with “chatter” but confine myself to news about his care and treatment. Having no choice, really, I agreed. I posted an update announcing the new parameters, noting that this censoring might force me to set up a blog elsewhere.

Several readers wrote to say they actually liked the chatter:

“These CarePages, I think, have served many purposes for different people. I do understand David's position, and it sounds like the time is right for a change. Just let me know where you're ‘chattering’ …”

“I understand David's ‘takeover,’ but it makes me a bit sad as well. I've followed every CarePage since I first learned about it. The family news and ‘chatter’ have been an important part of it for me. It lets me know how and what everyone is doing as well. That's a significant piece of the whole process. ... Please find your new outlet and let me know where you land. I'm interested in all of it!”

Of course, others, like my oldest son, applauded the change. “Vive la revolution,” he wrote.

So, what exactly is “all of it”?

“All of it” is what goes on around a cancer story -- the context into which the illness fits. Cancer lands in families merely going about their business, paying bills, chasing dreams, building friendships. No one sits around waiting for cancer to strike. When it does, it comes flying out of left field and knocks you flat. As you lie there, you wonder if you’ll ever get up again.

You do because your doctors make sure you do. You have to keep getting up to report for surgeries, scans, treatment and frequent checkups. The primal need to fight the invading beast takes over and sets you on a new course. Friends hold your hand as you put one foot in front of the other.

And when it’s over, you face what many call "a new normal." Much is still the same, but a lot has changed. That’s where we are now. The future is uncertain, but David is moving on, which forces me to move on as well. As he strives for wellness, there’s a lot of chatter in the background as the rest of our family recovers and puts life back together.

"Chatterlines" is not a cancer blog. It will enfold as the story of an everyday family pursuing life even as cancer has reworked its reality and expectations.

Welcome, friends! Thanks for stopping by.

Lorin