My mother used to hate the coats I wore. They never "did up to the top" and therefore exposed my chest to the wind which put me at risk of "catching pneumonia". (How've I done with 'pneumonia' there, only I can't get the spell-checker to work on this thing..??) Mum still counsels me about what to wear on a cold day, when she comes to stay. She usually concludes this fruitless advice with "toilet anyone?" just as we're about to leave the front door. I mean: ???? I never remember to remind my 4 year old to try for a wee before we leave, and she's still remembering to remind me.
Last time she was here, she enquired as to what I was doing at the computer - I was spending a fair amount of time with my eyes glued to the screen. I had a choice: my response could be either (a) "nothing", or (b) "blogging". I was in the mood for a little parental disapproval at the time, so I plumped for (b). And then explained a bit about what "blogging" meant.
"Hmmmm???", she replied. Yes! I wasn't going to be disappointed in my quest for a hearty debate / row. "Isn't it better to meet people for real than to communicate with them like that? You don't know who you might be talking to. It doesn't seem right to me to communicate with people you don't know. I mean, you never know who might... Is this your blog? Can I read it?"
Anne introduced me to the idea of blogging at a time when I was ensconced in researching my family tree. My thoughts were provoked and I was slightly saddened by the fact that when I traced ancestors, all I had on them was a date of birth, a date of death and, sometimes, a date of marriage. I wanted to know so much more. I wanted to know how they felt about life; what their ordinary days were like; what thoughts travelled through their minds. And that's why I blog. So that the www is left with more than just my date of birth, marriage and death. I know that I could record a private journal - I might probably divulge so much more about myself in a private journal. But I'm never motivated to keep a private journal (I've tried it in the past - I've many a diary that ends on 3 Jan).
There is something thrilling about communicating with the world. I love the fact that I've met people from around the world - I can visit people any time, any where. And I never know who might visit me. I've even made new friends. I'm very much myself on my blog though. I don't want to leave the www with someone who isn't me, for heaven's sake, that would defeat the whole object. Nope. This is me.
And, if I say something stupid, hey, I can delete it!!! (soooo much better than "real life", don't you think?) Wish I could spell-check it though. I wouldn't mind leaving my ancestors with the illusion that I could spell.
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6 comments:
I did start to try to explain this one, then got cold feet and fluffed it. Tooo painful, modern technology and all that.
That was to my husband. Parental disapproval? Daren't even go there!!!!!
I love blogs as a way to meet friends' friends. My favourites aren't the ones which are about something specific (the emerging church, politics etc) but the ones where people write about their lives and what they're thinking about and stuff. And that's why I like yours!
Just a thought - does your mother in fact ask everyone she leaves a house with whether or not they need to go to the toilet? Maybe it's just a habit. (One I could really really do with learning - I only ever remember things like that for Adam about 10 min after we've left the house...)
And I know what you mean about the anonymity of a family tree - my mother has given me as much as she knows of ours, but there's very little personality in there - about the only exciting bit is John and Jonathan Carter who sailed to Australia together, but were shipwrecked - one of them drowned with all the money in his belt, so the other one had to come back. And it's interesting to see that my maternal grandmother was the only child of the youngest of 9, but I'd love to know more about the mother of those 9... how did she cope with no CBeebies?
As for the ability to delete stupid things - now to be able to do that in real life would be a superb superpower. (Only topped by my current favourite, the ability to complete a household task simply by identifying it - "Oh look, the washing up needs doing" [pause] "Oh look, it's done.")
The only mistake that I caught on this posting, Ruth, is the very last line that says " I wouldn't mind leaving my ancestors with the illusion that I could spell. "
My thought was "Wouldn't it be her descendents that would be reading the blog?"
Yes, it's difficult to explain why blogging is so different from keeping a journal. Perhaps it's because we know that someone who cares about us is going to read what we type.. because I found that my fellow blogging friends actually "care" about me. It's a strange relationship wherein we may never actually meet in person, but we feel an emptiness inside when that person's internet presence is missing.
Well wouldn't you just know it: the time I post on mother's reservations about blogging is the time that I receive my first spam comment.
Thank you for all your comments (except one)!
Re: "My thought was "Wouldn't it be her descendents that would be reading the blog?"
AAggghhhh. I really want to "go in" and change it now. Did anyone else notice? I hadn't! Anne is talking about superpowers on her blog. The superpower I'd like is "an eye for detail". But that's not a superpower is it? I mean it's just something I lack that it would be super to have!
Tee hee, that's quite funny. I read it and briefly questioned it in my head, then dismissed it as my inferior comprehension and moved straight on. Oops!
I am pondering the 'superpower' too, what a wonderful question, especially as Anne has already bagged the best idea! She should have kept that to herself, the winner could have been the one to match it. The power of hindsight!
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