Coming Out of the Closet

No, it’s not what you think – although there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m talking about coming out of the blogging closet.

As a lot of you already know, I’ve been blogging for about 2 years now. Yeah, I can’t believe it either. Back when I started my first blog – you know, the very Pepto Bismo pink one – I had no idea what I was doing or what to say. There were many times I contemplated quitting because it just felt like I was talking to myself. How in the world was anyone going to find little ‘ol me in such a vast sea of blogs? It also didn’t help that I chose not to tell my family and friends about it.

Looking back, I’m not sure why I made that decision. I talk about my family in a pretty positive light (well, most of them anyway) and I don’t reveal anything that I think would be embarrassing to them. And pretty much everything personal that I share here I’ve probably already told them about anyway.

So why the secret? I think a part of me thought they wouldn’t approve. After all, the internet can be a dangerous place if not handled properly and don’t we just want our loved ones to be safe? I remember talking about blogs in general to a friend of mine and her first response was, “How do you know they are who they say they are? Maybe they’re making the whole thing up.” All I could say was, “Somehow, I just know they’re real.”

Also, I just didn’t know how to explain what a blog was to someone who’s never heard of it. How do you make them understand the friendships you make with people you’ve never met? How can they comprehend this massive support group you enter into where everyone is so willing to help each other out? I remember when Baby Bug was a year old and formed an attachment to “Meow”. I was terrified that Meow would one day get lost (like she almost did this past weekend) and I would have an inconsolable Baby Bug on my hands. After posting a picture of Meow on my blog, there were over 40 responses from people all over the world who offered to help find me find another one in their area. Now that’s what I call friendships.

Anyway, back to the reason for this post. About a year ago, I finally decided to tell DH about my blog. I thought he would be suspicious and think it was like a MySpace page or something. Surprisingly, he was very supportive and even bought me a laptop so I could blog on-the-go.

Then a few months ago, I told my sister. When she first started reading, she felt a little uncomfortable because she said it was like she was reading my diary. Now, since we’re both very busy and don’t see each other as often, she can go to my blog and find out what’s going on with my life. I’m still waiting for the day she actually leaves a comment, though (yes Sis, I’m talking about you).

Finally, I told my Mom. I wasn’t sure what her reaction would be since she’s SOOOO into safety. Surprisingly, she said that she always wanted to do things like product reviews and was really interested in seeing my blog. When I pulled it up for her, she read one of my posts and every.single.comment that was left. In fact, she even came up with pseudo-names for her and Dad. They’re now referred to as Mr. & Mrs. Earthworm. How funny is that?

Anyway, I was just curious if you told your family and friends about your blog when you first started and why you made that decision.

Spotlight Comment by Daisy of Compost Happens : My mom read it from the get-go. My kids (16 and 21) now read it, and my husband stops in now and then and complains that his blog nickname is boring. My inlaws — well, they wouldn’t get it. Last Christmas we were explaining why so many gifts were wrapped in Amazon boxes. “You buy things? On the Internet?� Never mind.