Today was such a pleasant day. Marty was home for the whole morning and it's always a treat to have him for a long and uninterrupted chunk of time. We got a couple to-do's done while he was around, so it was nice to get those off the list.
In addition to all of the books that Grandma K sent for Peter's birthday, she also sent us a "take apart airplane" kit that we opened up today. Holy smokes did Peter love that. It comes with a drill that you put batteries in so that it actually works, and you can use the drill on a bunch of screws that hold the pieces of the plane together. He played with it all day long and it was so darling.
He took it to nap time with him and he took it to bed tonight. Whichever toys are his favorites he always wants to have in his bed with him. Today it is this drill and airplane. Nice pick Grandma!
Carolyn is so mobile now, and is pulling herself up on everything. Mostly me. Anytime I stand in one place for more than 10 seconds- so that's been convenient. Today while Peter was playing with his drill, she looked like she was trying to stealthily sneak up to watch what he was doing. Little miss James Bond over here.
It has been so fun to watch them interact more and more. It's nice to have moments that make me glad that I had them so close together. I hope they will be great buds forever.
You may have noticed that I haven't been sharing many pictures lately. I have been trying to decide the level of exposure that I feel comfortable with when it comes to my children. I mean, right now it's nothing to worry about, only about twenty people read my blog, and they are all close friends. And maybe that's all this blog will ever be, but there are obviously no privacy controls on a public blog. And I would hope to expand my audience at some point, after all, it's hard to
be an influence in the world if you're talking and no one is listening.
I realize that the growth of an audience inevitably results in encountering negative people and comments. If people want to say negative things about me, that's fine, I'm choosing to put myself out there, but I hesitate to make my children vulnerable to that same negativity. That hesitation has caused me to dial back the picture sharing considerably. But I have this other side of me that really hates making decisions based on fear or paranoia or intimidation. Do I let the threat of negative voices change the way I and my family interact with the world?
I'm trying not to set any all-or-nothing rules for now. I won't feel obligated to have pictures of my children in every post, but I won't make myself feel like a negligent mother if I share some pictures here and there. It's a work in progress to figure out where the right balance or decision is.
I see other bloggers who share plenty of pictures of their children, and I've found their messages positive and uplifting and have appreciated that sharing. But what is right for one is not right for everyone. I've tried to approach things prayerfully, and have not felt clearly one way or another, but it has caused me to dial things back a bit. I also think the picture sharing sculpts the kind of blog that this will be, and I've rather enjoyed being able to write about things that I don't have a picture handy for.
Have any of you struggled with the same kind of question? Where is the appropriate level of online sharing of pictures of your children?
Labels: Motherhood, Parenting
