It seems like every time I have the urge to write a blog post, life prevents me from doing so. There's a small girl who doesn't much care for mama being glued to the computer screen for long periods of time--well, for any amount of time at all, really, and I think she's utterly right--and when she's napping, there's dinner to make and bills to pay. By the time she falls asleep at night, my brain is wiped out. I've never been a night owl by choice, and regardless of how energetic I feel, after 8pm, my brain just doesn't work the way it does during daylight hours. {Wow, that was a lot of d's in a row.} Words don't just flow. I struggle to adequately express what's on my heart, let alone wax eloquent.
Apparently I wax best during the day...maybe y'all should consider yourselves lucky!
Part of the reason for my long pauses lately is because I'm re-evaluating just how much I want to share here. I've read a couple of blog posts lately that have made me re-think how much personal information I want to put out there, preserved indefinitely and in a completely public fashion, on the internets. Spurred on by this article, I'm trying to figure out how much of Lainie's life I want to put on this blog. I hadn't given a lot of thought to her future "online identity" and how what I'm sharing about her now may be tied to her as an adult...maybe forever. That's sobering; it's the nature of our current digital age, isn't it? A few weeks ago, I was going through my blog archives trying to remember what we've done on Easters past, and I came across a post I wrote three years ago, in which I talk about why I started blogging. The first reason I listed was "to better keep in touch with family and friends who don't live in the area." That's still true, but even if you're not paranoid about crazy people, publicizing too much information about yourself online may be dangerous. {I cannot tell you how much that lady's experience freaked me out!} And then there's the fact that I am now also responsible for how much info about a certain little lady gets put out there, and well...I'm not exactly sure where to go from here. I don't want to make this a private blog, but I also don't want blogging to be something I worry about. {As a side note: I was a lot funnier back in 2010. I'm all serious and businesslike and "here's the list of things I have to check off" nowadays...which I know I was like then, too, but boy! My posts were a lot funner to read!}
Fellow bloggers, why do you blog? Has the focus or purpose of your blogging changed over time?
Fellow mama bloggers, how do you find the balance of what and how much to share about your children? What are your boundaries?
This is a battle I have waged in my head 100 times over, but for me there is no question. I asked for a ministry from home, my blog was the Lords loud, clear answer to that. Until He releases me from that call, I have to also trust that His grace will cover our family, as I share our laughter and tears, our hearts and our home.
ReplyDeleteI will miss you on here, but I totally understand....
Hugs, T
Thanks for your input, Tonya! Whatever I decide regarding the specifics of how much to share about kids here, I'm not stopping blogging...so don't say goodbye yet! ;-) Your words were really helpful, as I tend to forget that Jesus is BIGGER than whatever scary people may be out there, lurking on the interwebs. He is big enough. If my blogging is under His blessing, He will protect me and my family.
DeleteVery interesting. Good thoughts. This is definitely an issue for people to think about, even if they don't have kids. I've tended to be much more liberal when it comes to sharing stuff. I guess I'm naive. And a bit narcissistic. My lovely wife (whose name shall remain anonymous) is much more conservative than I and shares as little as possible. Perhaps what we all need is simply common sense. Make sure your privacy settings on your social media accounts are set. If you're sharing something publicly, just leave out details. Sharing your location with the world is probably never a good idea. Which is sad because I love checking in to all my events and I'm quite positive everybody on earth also is excited for me to do so.
ReplyDeleteAs for sharing embarrassing factoids and anecdotes about children, well, not being a father yet I really have no authority to speak on such issues. I read the first link in this post and agree with the author that we should always think before we post and ensure our children have a safe and respectful online presence. However, I'd hate for us as parents to take us and our children too seriously. If your kid grows up and his or her life is ruined because a picture of him in his birthday suit when he was three exists somewhere in the world wide web, I'd say you really need to focus on this child's emotional and spiritual issues more than anything. Seriously. Kids are naked sometimes. It's funny. Get over it.
~ A completely anonymous blogger
Haha Chris, your comments ARE witty and you did make me laugh! Seriously, I appreciate your perspective. I think I tend more toward your beautiful anonymous wife's side of the road, in all areas of life...which in my case I know is definitely not always healthy. I hadn't thought about taking potential "dangers" too seriously. Good point. My husband is in IT and he is the one who poked and prodded me to start a blog in the first place!
DeleteHmm, I never really thought about how blogging could affect kids... but I guess it could. I am totally with you on the privacy setting thing.
ReplyDeleteFor me, my little blog is a way to share my heart. Sometimes I just *have* to write, other times there is not much more than pictures, but I share because I have so often been impacted by others. I guess I usually think that only people who really care are reading, and have found (via stats) that is often the case. My blogging experience is much like my personal life; a handful of wonderful, close friends and many on-lookers. I write to keep in touch with the close friends (keeping in mind reasonable privacy etc) and to record the seasons the Lord is bringing my family through. This would definitely be harder when kids are involved though, I hope you find the balance and boundaries.
xo,
A
Thanks for sharing, Andrea...I felt much the same way as you when I started my blog. Now it seems to be more of an online baby book ;-) but perhaps this is a good reminder to me that I can--and perhaps should!--re-broaden my blogging horizons a bit.
Delete