Monday, January 10, 2005

No confessions, here, please!

I've been doing more blog reading than blogging lately (obviously), and it's interesting to think about the very broad range in the kinds of blogs there are, and what people seem to want to do with them. For some, they're writing commentary on their fields of expertise. Others use their blog to rant and rave about politics, religion, culture, or the irritating people in their lives. There are a LOT of blogs that are outlets for peoples' silliness and nothing else.

And then some use them as an alternative to getting counseling, spilling their guts about everything going on in their lives, and the awful things in their lives that have messed them up so badly, and taking time to lay the blame on everyone they possibly can, especially their parents. I suppose they think they're just shouting into the void, but what if their parents actually found their blogs and started reading them? Their kids couldn't get mad, since it's not like the parents have picked the cheap lock on their diaries to dig into their kids' lives. You post it on the web, and who knows who can see it?

I just can't see using my blog as a diary and confessional, myself. Why people would lay out in front of God and everybody all of their problems and shortcomings is beyond me. The people who are closest to me know my shortcomings pretty darn well, and if they want to complain about me on their own blogs, more power to 'em. But I just can't bring myself to confess all of my iniquities and point the finger of blame at my parents.

'Cause I KNOW my mom reads my blog.

Not long after posting my Christmas wish list, I was talking with my mom on the phone, and she asked what I wanted for Christmas. I told her that I'd posted it on my blog, so instead of having to get a pen to write down the list, she could print it out from her computer. Just tryin' to be helpful, mom!

The next day she called me again. Her first words were, "Okay, now you've done it."
"Oh?" says I. "What this time?"
She replied, "I read your blog."
"Oh." I was furiously racking my brain to try and remember if I'd said something negative about her, or my father, or any of the multitude of mistakes they made in raising me, or if I had written some confession of some hither-to-unconfessed childhoot transgression.
Mom went on. "I read all of it."
"Aha."
"Then I followed some of the links to some of your friends' blogs."
"Oh!"
"And I read all of theirs."
By this time, I'm thinking, "What's a woman your age doing sitting in front of the computer, playing voyeur to other people's lives? Haven't you got anything better to do than that, like going out and trying to scrape up money to buy me the iPod I have on my wish list?!!!" But I didn't tell her that.

Though I guess I have now. Oops.

4 comments:

Karen said...

Aside from my immediate family, not too many people in my "real" life know about my blog. I've told my sister, who lives 14 hours away... but not my Mom. I'm not sure she would read it if she did know about it. I think it's on the safe side to keep her in the dark; wouldn't want any of those "oops" like at the end of your post!!

Clarissa said...

Pretty much everyone I know knows about my blog. So, when I'm blogging, I try to be the "me" that fits into all those relationships. Sometimes that's hard, because it turns out I'm a lot of different "me"s.

Karen said...

Not too many people I know in real life do much with the computer, other than email. I don't think the few people who live here and see me on a regular basis and know about my blog read it. So I just don't mention it to anyone. I think they'd think I was weird. (Which I am... but that's beside the point!)

I'd like to think that my blog could be a way for some of the people who know me fairly well to get to know me even better... Some of my posts could be seen as conversations I might have with them if we had more time to just sit and talk (and not too many people have that luxury anymore.)

John Haffner said...

I know your mom. (If that doesn't scare you, I don't know what will.)

She'll read this and laugh -- and then she'll find a way to get back at you -- and laugh some more.

You made me laugh out loud this morning, thanks.