We're in the process of moving. Okay, we've moved but not all of our stuff has made it over to the new place yet. While at our storage unit, someone opened a box and said, "Hey, there's a parenting book in here." What? I never bought a parenting book, and I don't remember being gifted any. I opened the box and pulled out my copy of Dale McGowan's Parenting Beyond Belief. Despite the "parenting" word in the title, I don't really view it as a parenting book because it doesn't tell you what to do or how to raise your kid, but instead gives insight on how some well-known atheists/humanists/scientists/godless people have done it.

I was so excited when this came out. I pre-ordered my copy on Amazon.com and was thrilled when I received it. I read bits and pieces when I had time, but left it on a shelf for another day. The book was published three years ago, and I've barely started to read it from cover to cover.

Okay, maybe not cover to cover. I'm still skipping around, but should have read it all in a couple of days.

I read a few articles in the book and then came online to find a local playgroup for secular kids. I found nothing. There are two cloth diapering groups within 15 miles of me, and yet I can't find a group of like-minded mothers who choose to parent without god?

I flipped through the book some more, and at the end, there's a beautiful piece by Bobbie Kirkhart talking about giving kids community. And I laughed, because I'd just joined the local IE meetup (mostly for adults) and said I hoped to find community in the group.

And with that, I start a new blog. Hopefully blending my age old passions for reading, writing, learning and activism with all of the new passions that motherhood has brought - health, nutrition, safety, parenting styles, saving money, working outside the home, etc.