Practically pefect in every way (or not!)

A friend told me the other day, "I hate blogs". She said it with a laugh, but went on to explain that so often a blog gives this image of a person's perfect little life: cute kids, beautiful home, wonderful marriage, fun outings. Practically perfect in every way. Or at least, an impression that all is well. It can make you feel like everyone else is doing just fine, while you're stuck in the quagmire of your own day to day, dealing with whatever looms large in your world.

I think what my friend was getting at, was that she'd like to see more openness about the shadows of life on the blogs she reads, not just the high points. Since her life has it's fair share of shadows, she'd like to not feel so alone.



I've felt this way too about blogs. Sometimes, once I've spent entirely too much time browsing blogs of those I know (and don't know!), I hear that nagging little voice: "Everyone else is doing just fine with this being-all-grown-up thing. Except me. Or maybe being all grown up isn't all that it's cracked up to be, but nobody else is admitting it!"

Making people feel like this is certainly not intentional on the part of the blogger. Blogs mean different things for different people. Some bloggers like to portray only the pleasant and humorous parts of life, wanting to entertain their audience. I guess some people also desire to keep certain aspects of their lives private. It all depends on who you are, as well as the purpose of your blog. Some like to share only photos, others their innermost thoughts, while still others blog a mixture of both.

I am usually a photo and brief update kind of blogger, not delving too deep in this public sphere of my life.

However. (You can see where this is going, right?)

In an attempt to keep it real on this little blog (and perhaps provide encouragement to someone else out there who may happen to read this), I'd like to share what's been going on with me behind the scenes lately.



But since this is getting a little long, I'll save it for the next post. Ha!

Besides, I have to think about how public I want to be (there are some shadows best left unmentioned!!).