Raison d'Etre

Looking around my youngest daughter's room, my eyes came to rest on the little nesting doll, or matryoshka, that was sitting atop her toy stove. Aha! That would be what I would call my new blog.

Why? I wondered. The name seemed to fit, but why?

(Here's where I try to fit the title of my blog to the purpose because I didn't actually think that far ahead when grasping for a title.)

The purpose of this blog is manifold; however, because I am a mother of two daughters, my writing, I'm sure, will focus on them much of the time. They are the center of my world at present. But, I also hope to use this blog as a blank canvas on which to capture the lovely (and not so lovely) aspects of my everyday, ordinary life as I live it not just as a mother, but in all of my roles.

So, I was contemplating my blog title, which I happen to think is rather great. I've always been enamored with Russian nesting dolls, but never actually possessed one until I was in my twenties. I got it in Shipshewana, Indiana. It is supposed to be an authentic RUSSIAN nesting doll, not from China or anything. And I just love it. It is one of my very favorite things.

Funny how both my daughters are also quite fascinated with these little pieces of Russian culture. They both now have a small collection of nesting dolls, some of which are authentic and some are not. One IS from China. But if I remember the smidge of history I read on nesting dolls, the idea for them did indeed originate in China. But that is neither here nor there.

One of my favorite aspects of nesting dolls is, well, the way they nest. Some very large ones can have many, many little dolls inside them. Mine only has five pieces total, but that's enough. My girls especially love the littlest doll, of course, because of her miniature stature and cuteness. I do, too.

Perhaps I can draw the parallel that I am like the little matryoshka that sits on my living room shelf--composed at times, in pieces at times, multifaceted with many faces, yet a unified whole. Because my girls' intense interest in nesting dolls and the culture surrounding them, sort of sprung forth of their own accord, I think I also see them (the dolls that is) as representative of my girls' childhoods, a bit of their wonder and curiosity about the world and other cultures reflected in these little wooden dolls that they so adore, an emblem of unfettered, childish enthusiasm.