ECHO! ECHo! ECho! Echo! echo!

There have a been a lot of changes in my life and I decided that I wanted to concentrate on what I want to do. Yesterday my youngest child turned 18 years old. 18!!!! What does that mean for me?

Well...

It means using the excuse that I must use ALL of my time to rearing children is no longer a valid reason for allowing my passions to abate.

It means that I have an extraordinary amount of time to concentrate on what makes me happy.

It means that even though I will ALWAYS be mom and there for both of my daughters (oldest is 21) whenever and however they need me I can feel free, without maternal guilt, to look towards the future and expand upon my hobbies and life long passions.

Star Trek is an entertainment and pop culture icon that I've loved since 1974. I was 6 years old and only watched a few episodes as my bedtime was pretty early. I fell in love at first glance. I didn't get the nuances of the dialogue or understood the complexities of the 'science' portrayed onscreen. It was pretty to look at and the aliens were cool.

However 15 years later I picked up where that first grader left off and began my Trekkie journey. I was in the Army and stationed in Germany when a childhood  friend sent me a letter (before widespread Internet, Skype or cell phones) and a VHS tape of a new show called Star Trek: The Next Generation.  We didn't get a lot of US shows on Armed Forces Network and the German tv networks didn't show it then. I WAS HOOKED. By the time I returned to the States it was season three and I couldn't afford a new VCR to tape reruns. So I just picked up where it was and started watching the show.

Soon there was DS9, then Voyager and then the ill fated Enterprise.

Along the way I became a divorced single mom, out of the Army and struggling to care for my kids. I couldn't afford fandom. Heck, I never even heard of that phrase. I just knew there were some kooks who dressed up in costumes who went to Vegas.

But eventually my circumstances became better and the girls started growing up and then I realized that slowly and in small increments I could become a fanatic. It started with novels. Then action figures and then, 34 years after I saw my first Star Trek episode, I attended a convention and my world turned upside down.

I became a full blown Trekkie. That was in 2008 when I attended Dragon*Con. www.dragoncon.org

Meeting others like me and those who were WAY ahead in their fanaticism got me thinking. "I love Star Trek, why not do what I've always wanted to do and immerse myself in fandom?"

Yeah, I learned the phrase by then. :-)

So, now it's nearing the end of 2011. 2012 will find me taking my passions seriously. Star Trek and Sci Fi fandom. I've created a non-profit fan club and attended conventions and also networked with other fans who like me, decided that being a nerd, geek or dork isn't as bad as were led to believe in high school. That now WE'RE the cool people. (okay that may be going a bit too far)

I guess what I mean to say is, it's MY time. My time to enjoy what I enjoy and not be overly concerned with the world thinks of it. My time to indulge my desire for fun and excitement without the overarching Mom-Guilt. My time to be me.

A Geeky Mom who loves all things Science Fiction. A Nerdy Mom who plays WoW and will put on a floor length silver lame' vest and latex head ridges.

Not to mention double sided tape. LOLOL

I welcome you on this journey with me. And I look forward to hearing from others like myself and those who aren't. All are welcome into my world.

See y'all next time!