A few of you may have noticed that I had a post up on Saturday about my personal experiences and feelings about aging. After reconsidering, I decided it was best to take it down and not have it out there for the world to see. Although it had an overall positive message and it was not likely to be read by anyone involved, I still felt as if I needed to respect the situation and the people it was about.
It was one of my more heartfelt posts where I explored my emotions more than I usually do. As you have probably noticed, this is not a blog where you will learn about my innermost thoughts and feelings. That's because my strongest feelings involve relationships with other people and I don't feel that I can share other's trials and tribulations even if they involve me. Their stories are theirs to tell, not mine. Of course, I will talk about others with simple things like we went for a walk or grilled asparagus for supper. I occasionally share what my kids did when they were in the under 10 set. But I don't share what scares me, saddens me, or angers me about those close to me. Sometimes I want to and that's what I recently did before I removed it.
Several years ago, my mother wrote her autobiography. Her childhood was quite challenging, so she had a lot of interesting material to work with. But I thought she was leaving out some of the best stories that had a part in shaping her life. However, she told me that some of the people in those particular unflattering stories were still alive, so she wasn't going to write anything about them out of respect. I didn't understand at the time, but I do now.
I think there's actually a very fine line between writing a tell-all blog and sharing enough to be relateable. After three years, I'm still trying to find this balance. For all of you out there who are able to share your innermost feelings, I admire you. But for now, you'll be getting the sanitized version of me.
Note: If I mention anyone in a significant way in one of my posts, I let them read it and approve it before I post it.
I agree with you--we need to be very careful of who and what we share about publicly and it's best to err on the side of caution, especially when it concerns other's emotions (and possibly their reputation).
ReplyDeleteHaving said that ... I did see your Saturday post which you took down and it hit home with me, as I'm currently in the middle of dealing with elderly parent issues, myself. I wasn't sure whether or not I would comment, for similar reasons to the ones you listed--sometimes it's hard to know what's appropriate to share and what isn't.
I knew the post would hit home with several people as most baby boomers are dealing with or have dealt with aging parents. In that sense, I thought it could be valuable as a discussion point jump off. But maybe that needs to wait for a different time.
DeleteI missed the Saturday post because we are dealing with some difficult parent issues right now and I have been tied to them and unable to access my computer . Though I have no idea what was said in the post, I do understand the emotions of being in the middle of a generation sandwich. It is a difficult place to try and negotiate.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry that you are having parent issues. That's a difficult thing for sure. Here's hoping that you have a few days of calm.
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