A Bit About the Blog

You know, I hate it when people who "blog" don't do so very frequently and then, when they do get around to writing a post, they apologize for not blogging more often, promise to do it more often, and then, lo, the cycle repeats itself. So I'm not going to apologize for not blogging more often than I do these days. But I will let you all in on a bit of a secret:

I'm enjoying other things. And breaking a bad habit.

I think that living overseas takes the negative things about social media and exacerbates them even more than when you're in your home country. You feel so disconnected from friends and family that you cling to anything you can get, and often, while it's "enjoyable," it doesn't really help things. You envy things you can't have, places you can't visit, foods you can't eat, and so on. You idolize America (or wherever home is for you) and think that life would just be better if. But it's all a lie.


   Lane's learned how to draw faces. I love it.

Then, to top it off, there's the addicting desire to see what everyone's up to. To compare your life to theirs. To look at photos of where they've been, what their kids are doing, what their newest toy is, etc. So you log into Facebook, or Twitter, or Blogger, or wherever, a million times a day (or, let's face it, you don't ever even log out). Information overload is only a click away.

So, I've been trying to check myself a bit on my time spent engaging in social media. I usually check my blog subscriptions and Facebook in the morning, and I'm trying my hardest to not look at them again until after my girls are in bed in the evening. I tell myself, "You don't need to check Facebook. It will still be there later." Eventually my goal is to only check once per day, and to not feel like I'm missing out if I miss checking it that time.

I also think that social media is stealing our my time. What does it communicate to my girls when I pop my computer lid up to check Facebook or my blog subscriptions when I'm supposed to be playing with them? It communicates that I don't desire to focus on them, to engage them, to be with them. And while it's so easy to do...I'm trying hard to stop it from becoming a bad habit. This is also one reason that I'm infinitely glad I do not have a smart phone. And as much as I'd love some of the features that they have...I think I'm going to avoid getting one at all costs, at least for awhile. I know myself too well.


   Hungry? Get a croissant, slice up some leftover spiced chicken, and add some cheese. Layer and
   warm in the oven until the cheese melts. Add sliced tomatoes. Drool.

All that being said, I've been a) packing up our household, b) moving to temporary housing, c) studying language, d) reading real books, and e) engaging my kids. And while I miss blogging a bit, honestly, most of what I miss about it stems from what I want people to think of me, and not from my actually missing the blogging part of it. I like reading my old posts because it's like a journal of a kind (and I don't actually journal at all), so I will continue to post when I have make time and want to remember something specific (like my girls' milestones each month), but as far as "fluff" just to make someone want to read my blog...

I'm sorry. I'll be enjoying my children. Or my hubby. Or a good book. Just like before social media ever existed.