The divorce is done, my friends. It's time to talk about dating.

I am thinking thinking thinking about how and if to talk about dating on this little blog of mine. I sometimes startle myself by how how comfortable I am spilling personal details of my own life, and still, I am very protective about what I will give up about the other people in my life. Believe me, the stories are good. But I don't want to hurt feelings or sacrifice important relationships over one silly post (a book deal, though?...whole different story). In fact, a newspaper reporter told me a few weeks ago that she read my entire blog (good Lord, I wonder how many naps she took in the process) and still had no clue why and how my marriage ended. All I could respond to her observation was "yes."

I didn't want this blog to give any more energy than necessary to the other people person who I was divorcing. I wanted to focus on how I was doing, how my son and I were getting through, and now, on the family we are. So no, there aren't those details of exactly what went down. And I am good with that. As I turn my attention away from attorneys and parenting agreements, it's time to put that same kind of thoughtfulness into how I do or do not cover dating. I'm just not sure about that yet. There are pros and cons on each side, including the pro of the crazy, crazy stories that emerge out of this old/new world of meeting up with single men and the con of putting those wackadoodles on the same screen as I write about my son. It may take a bit of stumbling and restarting and saying "to hell with it" and hitting the publish button to figure out.

In the meantime, I've spilled -- just enough -- to the Red Eye, a local paper that ran this story today on single parents and dating. I'm thrilled to be quoted alongside my grrrls Ms. Single Mama and Rachel Sarah of Single Mom Seeking. After you read the full story, check out the nice little sidebar on single parent social networking here. If your local, pick up a copy or twelve!

Do also check out the right-on commentary by Amy Sue Nathan, a fellow single mama, Chicagoan and great support here on Sassafrass.

What are your thoughts, gentle readers? How open should a newly single mama be about dating on her blog?

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Yeah, that's right: I'm still talking about Inauguration Day

President Obama's already shaking stuff up in the Oval Office. This reminds me -- Did you love that he told reporters how happy he is that he will now "work from home"? This makes me wonder if there is some kind of official emblem-stamped silver tea set packed up with my wedding china and fourteen crystal cake plates that I should be taking my midday coffee on before I meet up with some prime minister of the interwebs or dignitary of high heels or some such.

Regardless of what kind of business he conducts at his desk and I conduct at mine, there are two things I know for sure:

1) I rarely can find the charger to my BlackBerry amidst the piles of extremely official paperwork (also known as the sweetest little clippings ever than my grandmother sends me as blog inspiration, fourteen Gymboree coupons, a pile of cards I collected at BlogHer '07 and blank CDs I swear I am going to burn with kickass playlists and photo montages...next week),

and B) this is not true for President Obama.

Oh, and also, 3) George W. Bush did not leave me any kind of message last week. There was a slurry text message at 2 a.m. about seven months that possibly could have crossed secure lines, but I will never know for sure.

While I am intensely watching Obama's intention to lift the "global gag rule" (I wrote about it here, and if you'd like to add your opinion in among the Bible quothers, please do), stem cell research funding, Guantanamo Bay closure and all kinds of other swift progress, I am also still riding high on how I spent Inauguration Day.

I was delighted to watch and cheer and eat oatmeal (yes, Quaker...of course) with some of my favorite Chicago mama bloggers -- the very talented and wise-cracking Jeanne from HouseInProgress, Danielle from  Foodmomiac, MJ from Chicagonista among them. These women have laughed and ranted and written about so many political issues that it just seemed ideal to sit among them in front of CNN, our laptops, coffee and maybe even a brunch-time cocktail or two. Here are a few postcards from the day in photos generously shared by Foodmomiac (because I can't handle a coffee cup, champagne and a camera all at once):

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3 little things I loved about the inauguration

What a dreamy day. I felt so in love with the ceremony and celebrations, the hope and the accountability, the crowds of people cheering and the memory of all of those people there in spirit and in memory. And of course, I was head over emerald heels with the Obamas.

As overwhelmed and emotional and high as I felt with the day on the whole, I hope I remember these three things:

1. Malia cam and Sasha silliness. I adored that the first child of the first family is a real kid, texting and taking pictures and even handing over the camera to Joe Biden for a closer peek at her dad on centerstage. I loved that Sasha was as entertaining as Aretha in some moments. I've listened closely to what the Obamas have said about their views on parenting and I imagine many other people have taken pointers from their seeming centeredness and stress on the kids' (and their own) responsibility. I like that. Shining out from the adorable, brightly colored coats and coordinating gloves, it shows. And I totally want to be Malia's Flickr friend to see those shots.

2.  The poem. Ohhh, the poem. Is there any better ritual than commissioning such fine art to commemorate a day? Every single line is perfection. Is it too much to dream that one day Lil E will stand in front of a classroom, reciting this memorized poem for an oratory assignment? Or that he will study it in a college class, doodling around the edges of the copy in front of him, Xeroxed many times over? Maybe those are my own dreams, but I hope he one day appreciates the beauty of this one work by this one writer, who that day was welled up with her own emotion, and who proudly has Chicago ties.

3. The clear love. I watched the new president and first lady walk toward the White House during the inaugural parade and was struck (once again, this is not the first time) by their connectedness. Even as she changed hands to wave at opposite sides of the crowd, she never lost contact with his hand. In this lovely, sweeping, rhythmic motion, Michelle Obama released one hand from his to raise it in a wave while grasping his hand with her other. That tiny moment spoke so much and it made proud of the force of life she seems to be beside him. (And if you haven't seen it already, this head shaking take on their connection is quite funny. Someone please point this woman to the Urban Dictionary.)

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