Friday, July 8, 2011

Toe in the Water

Well Hello There...it's been a long, long time

I know, I know. I've been absent from the interweb for a while. But with the impending birthday of my second child looming large in my life vision, I got kind of overwhelmed. Specifically by the interweb. And so, I shut it down.

The "it" in this instance was my participation in the internet. I exited twitter, stopped opening the Facebook (well, maybe I lurked just a little), and effectively shut down this blog. It wasn't a terribly conscious decision. It just kind of happened.

Looking back on it I realize that the Internet was both an overwhelming and internal conflict producing force in my life. Overwhelming because, um, duh! The Internet is overwhelming. With an iPhone in hand one has somewhere near the entirety of Human knowledge at their fingertips as well as insight into the daily minutiae of everyone you've ever met. And these days we're all expected to detail and broadcast at least some part of our daily minutiae for others to experience. And when you're 8 month's pregnant and all you really want to do is eat, sleep, and clean your house in preparation for the new resident who is about to move in...well really, who has the time.

As for the internal conflict...let's jet say that "you ruined my life and scarred me emotionally by putting my childhood up on the Internet for all to read about" is not something I want to hear come out or the mouth of either of my teenage and/or adult daughters. I've been getting increasingly ill at ease about posting about Lisel and with a second child approaching I wasn't sure where I wanted my boundaries to bs. So rather than figure it out, I just shut it down.

It was causing me anxiety. True, lots of thongs were causing me anxiety (second child and all that) but shutting down the blogfacebooktwitterverse was one way to cut down on one form of anxiety.

Now, now. I didn't go truly Luddite. I still read blogs, and googled things like "creme of tartar" and "three week old baby milestones." I watched lot of things on Netflix. I used the internet. I just didn't really interact with it.

Which is why, if you sent me a message on Facebook (and quite possible email) I didn't respond. If you posted on my wall, I didn't respond. And if you kept opening this blog and getting the same old post...well, that's why.

But I'm back. Slowly but surely, I'm coming back online. I'm still considering the boundaries issue, so this blog may start looking kind of different. Or maybe not. I'm not sure right now.

My disclaimer in case you don't hear from me for a while is that having two kiddos has really put a cramp in my time styles. In the last week I've started this blog post like, 5 times and have been interrupted by life (which is apparently what happens when you're trying to write blog posts). But however back I am, I'm back.

This weekend, after almost three months of momming it, I'll be putting my toe back work water. I'll be part of the cast of "A Ride With Bob" on Galveston. And the I'll go back to momming it until September when I'll get in the baby bus and go back on the road, this time with two kids.

I'll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, what are your thoughts on internet disclosure. How much do you share about your own life? Inquiring moms want to know.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

10 comments:

Debbie said...

Congratulations on the new baby!Love your blog and looking forward to more stories from the Babybus.
I've tried to go luddite a few times, even to the point that I had hubby change my passwords. I don't tend to post much about my child or husband. Neither of them like to have someone come up to them and say "I heard you swam some really fast races" or "How's the car shopping going."

Eric C Hughes said...

Hi Elizabeth,
Congrats on your 2nd child! Glad to hear you are doing well. I'd like to respond to your blog question even though I do not have kids nor am I a mom. But I have very strict and sometimes skewed rules when it comes to the Facebook world.
I do not friend anybody just because I went to high school with them (you want to be friends NOW? after 25 years...?) or because I met them at a gig etc... I know who my real friends are and they get access.
In regards to posting... I've really cut back in the past few months. I do not need even my friends knowing about my wife, my dog, my life that much. I was using a blog like you and that's where I chose to bear my soul. I figure if it's more than 140 characters most people will be bored and not want to read it!
Congrats on being careful and cautionary with your posts. It's sometimes refreshing to speak to a human being in person or over the phone. I think too many people get caught up in the ease of electronic communication and miss out on the human touch. If you want to share then please share but if you want to keep it to yourself and your family your friends will respect you for it.
My best,
Eric C. Hughes

MAYBELLINE said...

My children are referred to as my garden gnomes and my husband as Farmer MacGregor. Rarely do I post photos of them because my blog is about my garden. But your blog is Miles and Miles of Diapers so that kinda seems like you would be discussing kiddletts.

I'm not clear if babe #2 has arrived. Nonetheless. Congratulations to all.

Terri R. said...

Hi Elizabeth,
Congratulations on the new baby. Saw the fellows last Friday night in the Elephant Room and heard the news about Willow.
Looking forward to seeing you down the road. Be well,
Terri Romeo

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! You have been missed and I have wondered why we never heard about the birth. I thought sure it had happened by now. It can't be easy trying to raise two (girls, boys, one of each?) while living on the road. Just obscure the faces, show their backs or whatever, and use nicknames and you should be OK. Best of luck and glad you are back.

Anonymous said...

So glad you are back, Elizabeth! Congrats on Willow and your expanded family. There is absolutely nothing more important than your kids and husband, so don't lose focus. My advice: put enough info out there about your kids so they will see later in life how proud you are of them, but save some personal details that might embarrass them later on. Just because we are your fans does not mean we deserve access to your life! Just keep on writing songs and singing for us when you can.

Anonymous said...

Hello, thanks for the update, as I love your blog! I just discovered you and your music this week by chance while surfing AusChron from my home in Vermont. Mostly, I am inspired by the fact that you are raising two children while also continuing your musicianship. I am on the brink of baby #2 myself, and I have really been wondering how it will affect my budding music career...atlas, I am just getting started, but I have, high hopes, yes, high hopes. Maybe pie in the sky, apple-pie, hopes. But I digress, in anycase, I am so happy to have found you, a fellow Mom and musician; your ability to multitask is giving me hope for my own musical future, and for that I am very grateful.. and for the wonderful songs you write, especially Mind of Men! Thank you!

EMQ said...

Thank you all for your input. I'm still figuring everything out. Yesterday I posted a picture of Willow, and because of your responses I really had to examine my motives and intentions, and check in with myself about whether or not I felt okay with the decision. Ultimately I think a few pics are okay, but mostly I want to keep this blog focused on my journey. One day my girls will get to write their own stories!

Anonymous said...

I post things about my life. Stuff that affects me. If loving my grandsons makes me deliriously happy, I say so. If the antics of one of my family members delights me, I speak of the delight but leave details that don't belong to me out of it. It is hard not to post every detail that touches my life, but if I don't own it, control it and feel pesonally responsible to or for it, it isn't mine to publicly discuss. It's hard toehold my pride and my joy back at times, but I'm not about to risk losing the trust of those I so dearly love.

melfitz said...

Welcome back! I've missed your stories of motherhood from the road. Congratulations on your newest addition. I've found that having two can be 3 times the stress but 5 times more fun. I also wanted to share with you what I do or don't do with sharing info. I have been doing a photo project http://365project.org/#/fitzgibbon. It's kind've a daily photo blog. I have no problem showing my kiddie but I've made a point of not sharing their names or the manes of any other innocent family member that may end up on the other end of my camera. Congrats again!! I hope you all are getting some sleep. It's so much harder with the 2nd because you can't usually nap when they nap... To be having to chase around the older kiddo. :)