Internet Personalities

There has been a bit of discussion about what Facebook says about people.  I think the principles apply to blogs as well.  It is really easy to read some one's blog, or Facebook page and start to think that you know them.  You do learn all kinds of things about people, sometimes even things that you didn't know about people who you do really know.  I think some people spend a lot more time thinking about their Internet persona than others do.  I for one, tend to be oblivious anyway, so then add a layer of removal and I can get pretty confused.

I went to my Facebook page and scrolled through it, trying to be objective in my mind.  It isn't possible for me to be objective, I got sentimental really quickly and then forgot why I was doing this at all.  What I see is a lot of pictures of my kids.  The things that I noticed were, HIV, adoption, track, Christmas celebration, the view from my deck, occasional whining about my busy schedule, and more pictures of my kids.  For the record I have not whined about the weather this year nearly as much as I did last year.  Yes, the mild winter could be helpful on this point.  I was sort of hoping that I would catch any glaring subjects that I have taken too far.  I don't see them, but that may very well be the problem.

These little snapshots of my life are not the whole story.  I put up plenty of reality, and not always the most flattering pictures of my life, but I don't usually post the really stinky stuff.  I want to celebrate the good things, and make sure that I remember to be grateful for the right here, and right now.  I want to remember what life looked like when I am five years down the road and wondering what I was thinking back there in the teens.  This blog is just a very small glimpse of what's happening here in the land of life.  I have too many thoughts to nail them all down.  I have too many good stories that would make the kids howl if I put them up for everyone to chuckle at.  Sometimes I am just too busy living life to take pictures and think about writing what I am thinking.  The most limiting factor is that I only see things from my perspective.  I am severely limited in what I an pay attention to, what I notice, what I feel, and my ability to get to the computer and make sense of it all.

I know that I have read my friend's blogs and Facebook pages and wondered who this person is.  Things come across much differently in print than they do in living color.  I often read about events I was at, think "I didn't get that out of it at all."  I'm not saying they are wrong, just that I saw it from a very different angle and I find that really interesting.  I know people read my stuff and feel the same way.  They will comment about when I get to talk to them face to face.  It is an odd phenomenon, but is probably how much of our lives are.  We thought we understood a situation so well, and yet the guy sitting next to us saw something very different.  I find it disconcerting, since sometimes I think my perception is way off, but sometimes I realize that this is what three dimensional life is.  We can't take it all in.  God made so much depth that we could explore it for our entire lives and still have more to learn.  That is why I find people so fascinating.  They all have interesting stories, if we are willing to stop and listen.

I know there are people that don't like to post on Facebook because they are afraid people will get the wrong impression of them.  I think that is sort of sad, but not crazy by any means.  All of our lives are like that.  Anytime we use our voice, there are those who will hear something very differently than the way we intended it.  It's okay, being misunderstood is not a sin.  It gives us opportunities for dialog.  I am not sure what kind of impression this blog leaves.  Only my friends know if it is in anyway accurate to what I look like at home, or at the grocery store.  It is just a bunch of random thoughts, mostly meant to help my children know who I am a little bit better.  They enjoy reading it, and we have a lot of good discussions about things I write about.  They have gotten used to having their tales of glory and woe posted for public consumption.  I guess people are getting to know them through this odd media too.  I love their Facebook pages, even though most of them don't like to post much.  I am hoping a couple of them will take up blogging, because they are really good writers.  They prefer pictures for now and I love those too.  I think they feel like it is hard to argue with a picture, although a few of them have brought on some dialog they didn't expect.  That's public life.  For better of for worse this is the little glimpse I will have of who I was way back when.

Today I am thankful for...

Seasons

Baptisms, they make me cry every time

The body of Christ singing, praying, listening, and talking together

Supper Club, keeping friendships alive and well over good food

Bloggers, taking their opinions out to the masses

Sunday afternoons, quiet time in my room with a good book

The flu, it isn't always fun, but some forced rest is sometimes what we need