I wish I would have thought of Pinterest. I wish I would have thought of a lot of things that are currently reaping tons of revenue. Actually I did have a form of Pinterest in my head long ago. Let me tell you about it. It’s my blog, after all, I can do that.

It was one of those days when I was thoroughly discontented with my job. I was talking to Elaine, who was also working at Intel at the time. We were standing at the workstation and I was bordering on tears. We were the new kids on the block just having transferred from New Mexico to Arizona. It wasn’t a warm and fuzzy group. They gossiped, they lied, they fought amongst themselves.

They had the social skills of a pack of hyenas surrounding a frightened rabbit.

I was wishing myself far, far away. We talked of Yosemite National Park, one of my happy places. Then I said, “People need something like a virtual vacation, where they can just get away, right at their desk.” Kind of like a virtual Calgon moment. For those who don’t remember the commercials, Calgon is a brand of bubble bath guaranteed to melt away stress, marketed toward Moms and career women alike.

Now I ask you, what does that sound like? Feel free to think of me as the Mother of Pinterest. Hey, Al Gore can say he invented the Internet, so I don’t think this is much of a stretch.

It’s my new addiction. Here is why I like it SO much.

It relaxes me. It makes me feel as serene as this statue. For someone like me who loves organization and likes everything neat and tidy, this is a dream come true for me. I can organize, re-pin, delete boards, change covers to my hearts content. And the best part?

It’s free!

I really wanted to get involved in scrapbooking, but the cost of all those pages and stickers and books put me off. I saw an endless money pit. Plus it’s hard for me to make a decision. I have literally stood in that aisle for 30 solid minutes trying to find just the right set of stickers on my few feeble attempts. This is just like virtual scrapbooking! And again, it’s free!

Used to, people got together and had quilting bees or knitting circles, and in some places I am sure they still do. Now we have Pinterest parties. I have never actually been to one but I am sure it’s fun. Anything that gets people together in a positive setting in the spirit of community is a good thing. It also works well as a solitary activity, which is good for those on the reclusive side like me.

Another reason I like Pinterest is because I am at heart, a dreamer. I can lose myself in boards and pins like Alice lost herself down the rabbit hole. And no, it’s not a waste of time, thank you very much. Well, maybe a little. But I personally think we could all use a little more dream time. Beside, we all know that American lags far behind in the vacation department. The whole of Europe sleeps and goes away for the whole summer. I think I can afford a little Pinterest luxury.

And for those of us who blog, it’s another way to share our writing and further inspire and encourage others. Pinterest is another way we can draw people in to our world and they can draw us into theirs. It’s another way we can outreach, another way to commune with others.  Another way we can share our faith. And that’s always a good thing.

In this big wide world, Pinterest is yet another way we can throw out our nets a little wider in hopes that in the exchange of information we can know each other a little more, fear each other a little less. Make the world a friendlier place. We need that.

So whoever you are who invented this new social media thing, thank you.

And also, you stole my idea.

Now I have to go organize my boards. And of course, feel free to pin this post, I did!