Every Mommyblogger Has a Dream
I want to remember this moment: You are getting the kids ready for bed. Thomas is watching The Simpsons, his hair wet from his bath; he is wearing his Babies for Humanity T-shirt. Emily is still in the bath and I can hear her voice spinning a tale of make believe while she plays with foam letters and ducks and I put shirts on hangers in the bedroom. The sliding door in the kitchen is open and a gentle breeze is making its way through the house. This life feels full of possibilities and I am content.
***
Miss Zoot is holding her very own mommyblogging panel! She's so cool. If you're so inclined to write about the reasons why you blog (if you are a mommyblogger), go visit her. I hope it's not too late; she started this last week but I'm a little behind. And with 175,000 new weblogs created each day, is it any wonder I've got too much to read?
Miss Zoot Mommyblogging Panel Q & A
1. Do your kids know about your blog? If they're too young to know, do you plan to keep it open to them as they get older?
My kids do not know about my blog but that's because they are only 3 and 1. I do plan on letting them know about it when they are older. There's no way I could hide my blogging; I do it in front of them a lot.
2a. If so - do you worry they may get embarrassed later? What would you do if they asked you to stop writing about them? What would you do if they wanted you to take it down all together?
I don't really worry that they will get embarrassed. If they are embarrassed and ask me not to write about them, I won't. I'm not sure what would happen if they asked me to take it down. I might. I certainly wouldn't be upset at them or dismiss their concerns. I would never sacrifice my children's happiness for the sake of this blog. I would never stop writing, but I would definitely stop writing about them.
3. Do you think our kids will appreciate the archive of their childhood? Do you wish your parents had done the same?
At some point in their lives, our children will very much appreciate these archives of their childhoods. It may not be until they have children of their own, but some day they will appreciate the stories we are writing about them, about us, and about our lives together.
I definitely wish my mother had kept a journal of her life. Oh, yes.
4. Do you go back and re-read your past parenting milestones? Do you realize you forgot a lot?
I don't often go back and re-read what I've written unless it's to put together an end-of-year recap. But whenever I do, I am amazed both at what I didn't remember and at how much still is missing. No matter how much I write in this blog, I will never be able to capture all of the moments and all of the stories that I want to. Without this blog, I would remember very little of the small moments that make up my life.
5. What about your children's friends/teachers/moms-of-friends? What if they found your blog? Do you tell your child not to tell anyone about it or are they free to talk about it? Do you worry their teachers or other parents will think it's weird?
I find myself telling more and more people about my blog. I am no longer shy or reticent when it comes to handing out my business card, even to non-blogging friends. I guess my policy is, you can't hurt me with something if I told you about it first. When I blog, I don't write things that I wouldn't want the person I'm writing about to read so I have no fear of a random friend or relative finding my blog and being shocked or hurt.
I don't think teachers or parents will find my blog weird. The ones whom I've alread told don't think it's weird. If anything, I probably will be asked to come into my kids's classrooms to help teach their classmates about blogging! I think more teachers will want to incorporate blogs in their classrooms. One day, my kids might be thanking me for introducing them to this forum and putting them one step ahead of most of their peers.
Every mommyblogger has a dream.
***
Technorati tags: mommyblogging, kids, dreams
***
Miss Zoot is holding her very own mommyblogging panel! She's so cool. If you're so inclined to write about the reasons why you blog (if you are a mommyblogger), go visit her. I hope it's not too late; she started this last week but I'm a little behind. And with 175,000 new weblogs created each day, is it any wonder I've got too much to read?
Miss Zoot Mommyblogging Panel Q & A
1. Do your kids know about your blog? If they're too young to know, do you plan to keep it open to them as they get older?
My kids do not know about my blog but that's because they are only 3 and 1. I do plan on letting them know about it when they are older. There's no way I could hide my blogging; I do it in front of them a lot.
2a. If so - do you worry they may get embarrassed later? What would you do if they asked you to stop writing about them? What would you do if they wanted you to take it down all together?
I don't really worry that they will get embarrassed. If they are embarrassed and ask me not to write about them, I won't. I'm not sure what would happen if they asked me to take it down. I might. I certainly wouldn't be upset at them or dismiss their concerns. I would never sacrifice my children's happiness for the sake of this blog. I would never stop writing, but I would definitely stop writing about them.
3. Do you think our kids will appreciate the archive of their childhood? Do you wish your parents had done the same?
At some point in their lives, our children will very much appreciate these archives of their childhoods. It may not be until they have children of their own, but some day they will appreciate the stories we are writing about them, about us, and about our lives together.
I definitely wish my mother had kept a journal of her life. Oh, yes.
4. Do you go back and re-read your past parenting milestones? Do you realize you forgot a lot?
I don't often go back and re-read what I've written unless it's to put together an end-of-year recap. But whenever I do, I am amazed both at what I didn't remember and at how much still is missing. No matter how much I write in this blog, I will never be able to capture all of the moments and all of the stories that I want to. Without this blog, I would remember very little of the small moments that make up my life.
5. What about your children's friends/teachers/moms-of-friends? What if they found your blog? Do you tell your child not to tell anyone about it or are they free to talk about it? Do you worry their teachers or other parents will think it's weird?
I find myself telling more and more people about my blog. I am no longer shy or reticent when it comes to handing out my business card, even to non-blogging friends. I guess my policy is, you can't hurt me with something if I told you about it first. When I blog, I don't write things that I wouldn't want the person I'm writing about to read so I have no fear of a random friend or relative finding my blog and being shocked or hurt.
I don't think teachers or parents will find my blog weird. The ones whom I've alread told don't think it's weird. If anything, I probably will be asked to come into my kids's classrooms to help teach their classmates about blogging! I think more teachers will want to incorporate blogs in their classrooms. One day, my kids might be thanking me for introducing them to this forum and putting them one step ahead of most of their peers.
Every mommyblogger has a dream.
***
Technorati tags: mommyblogging, kids, dreams
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