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I want to use this blog mostly as an online journal of our family life.
But, there are some things that I just KNOW I shouldn’t put out there for all of bloggerland-hey, really it’s *just* all the internet.
Like:
~Super embarrassing (but cute)things the kids say/do.
~Struggles we are having as parents-but places where we are also seeing some victory.
~Stories that involve other friends/family, but we just aren’t sure if they want it all out there for the “world” to see/read.
I really debate a lot in my head about whether or not this blog is actually an accurate picture of our lives-you know what I mean?
(We aren't like some families either, where stories about certain children can be sort of anonymous-due to the close ages of the children. I mean, if I say, “Child A was reading a book the other day when…..,” everyone knows it HAS to be Ana! Right?! Unless you think R or N might be a child prodigy!)
What do you do if you are a blogger & are partly keeping the blog for posterity?
Do you share EVERYTHING? Do you keep some of it written down in an "old-fashioned" journal?
Thoughts? Opinions?
9 comments:
I think it's a personal choice. I'm going to direct you to http://smilesandtrials.blogspot.com
She is very open about everything and for the personal stuff she asks her older kids if they mind (I know quite a few people who do that). I don't always agree with her...we have several differences in opinion....but I do know her openness has helped others and herself.
All that being said, I am horrible at using this as a journel. I use it more to keep the family updated. I hope to get better at that.
Thanks for the link, Tina.
I have always been a "journaller" (is that a word?), so this was just a natural extension of that.
thanks for this post, Kim. I've read other posts similar to it on other blogs, and those blogs have usually ended up going private. I guess it depends on whether it would bother you that others (who really knows WHO) read the not-so-perfect-life stuff if you were to put it on your blog. I too think about this. I've read some pretty detailed blogs by moms who describe their joys AND their sorrows. i don't think any less of them or feel like I'm peeking into their lives -- they chose to tell ALL their story, and invite people to read it and appreciate comments. It's a tough call to make.
I don't know how it works on blogger, but on wordpress we can keep individual posts private (you have to sign in with my password to see those). I do that sometimes, the posts are there for me but not for everyone.
I also don't use real names or pictures, so only family knows who we really are and not all of the 'internet.' But then, that means that my blog is nowhere near as interesting as yours!
Great questions to consider, Kim. Tina's definitely right that it's a personal choice.
For me, I'm lousy at journalling on paper, and I figure that for our family, the partial view of life that is my blog is going to be a better preserving record than nothing!
There are certainly things that I don't share, stories that I don't tell. I do try to "keep it real" in the sense that I don't want to perpetuate anyone else's struggle with viewing "everyone else" as having it all together. But I have to try to balance that with respect for my family, friends, etc.
I wish I did keep some of the "unpublished" material of our lives in a written journal. But at this point, it's just not happening!
Don't know if that's at all helpful, beyond knowing that you're not the only one who wrestles with those questions...
We did a fun alternative.
THe Runyan side of our family, now has a private blog,of which I am the admin, where each family unit is an author.
This allows siblings, cousins and grandparents to keep in touch over the miles.
We post pics and share stories. The parents are putting together the how they met stories, and the birth stories of each child.
The goal is, and this is a secret, that we will be doing a print version of the blog, come the grandparents 50th.
Because the blog is private, we can share stuff that is more private.
We can also invite extended family to read it as well.
Paula
Oh! Forgot to say, that I put all authors on email alert, so that everyone is alerted to the fact that a post is up.
No one forgets about the blog this way.
Paula
Thanks, everyone for such great feedback!
I know one thing-I am probably in no danger of making my blog private! I love this kind of interection way too much!
If I write something about my older children I always let them read it before posting. They have full veto power.
Other than that I struggle with this issue too. For instance, I know that some of my husband's clients read my blog. Why? No idea. But they do. So I almost never mention financial issues or struggles with work.
I still sometimes wonder why the heck I even blog- and why anyone is interested in what I have to say. But it usually comes back to - I never expected anyone to read me anyway.
I blog because my head would explode if I didn't get the extra words out and I'm a failure at making photo albums so blogging is the perfect solution:)
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