Two Sides to Mommy Blogs

When I was in high school I often fasted from desserts during Lent. I'm not sure what first got me interested in it since it wasn't really a Mennonite thing, but for some reason, I found that it was meaningful to me. If nothing else, the discipline it required was good for me.

I haven't fasted from anything during Lent for years, but this year, my brother asked me if I was going to and so I decided to avoid Facebook. I found myself getting sucked into it: it's fun to see what others are up to, check out their pictures, etc. But being home some much, I really felt like I began wasting time, and was having a difficult time limiting myself.

What does this have to do with "mommy blogs?" Well, did you ever realize how many are out there? I don't think I really know, but I've spent more time looking at them since I'm not on facebook. I've realized that there are two sides to this virtual world. The one is that I can find a tutorial on most any crafty, sewing, crocheting related item that I'm interested in knowing how to make. That's been a really helpful thing, in fact.

But I also realized a down side to looking at all these mommy blogs. They can really encourage discontentment and envy. Or maybe a better way of putting that is to say that I found those emotions churning inside me. It's not really the fault of the bloggers. It's how I react to what I see and read. For some reason, reading about someone's life or accomplishments online brought out these feelings in me. I'd see some lives that looked so "together" (and yes, I know that's just a myth, but it's still hard to not think some people achieve it, so there must be something wrong with me because I haven't) and then feel bad about my own.

I really enjoy the creativity that is enabled by checking out others' blogs, and the heartfelt postings that are shared, and keeping up with all the random happenings of friends, but I realized that reading random blogs (basically ones where I don't know the writer) can also become caustic if my attitude and heart aren't in the right place.

So it's been an interesting journey.