Lessons from the sidewalk...

In today's world of social networking, people can share their life in a myriad of ways: with a click of the keys today's laundry is aired all over Facebook; tweeted from coast-to-coast or shared with the bloggy world.

And I don't mind telling you that I a fan of all of it! I love to read blogs. I love to read status updates. I love to know what everyone I know -- and a good many that I don't know -- are doing, thinking, experiencing RIGHT NOW! And if they have photos -- oooh that is even better! 

But I am increasingly concerned that all the networking could be leaving some dear ones feeling hhmm...perhaps less encouraged and more discouraged.

Or maybe it is just me. But on days where my glass seems more half-empty than half-full, I am convinced that all my Facebook friends are in perfect, marathon-running shape (and many are!); that life is a vacation and the spouses and children are all practically perfect (and running marathons with them!). I can read the blogs of complete strangers and feel wholly inadequate by comparison: my kids aren't always coiffed in matching ensembles and playing adorably at my feet for group photos; I have not just created a five-course meal from scratch and shared the recipe; and my home school crew do not recite the first five books of the Bible in Hebrew each morning FROM MEMORY!

But the reality is this: I KNOW everyone has bad days. And while, sometimes that is interesting to blog about -- or put on a status update -- for the most part, I try to blog about the good, the happy, the uplifting. Cause really, do you want to know about the myriad of tests my crew took this week that left us all a bit frazzled, weary and oh-so-cranky with each other? Do you want to see photos of the piles of tissue we are going through as this cold works its way through the house?

Gross. I'm not taking those photos. I would much rather snap away while my little redhead figures out how to play hopscotch and wants the entire family to join her. Cause sidewalk chalk and a rock really are the coolest toys ever!

But, please know that just because I don't post about paying bills, doing laundry and wiping snotty noses. I do all of that. And I am guessing -- cause I really shouldn't speak for everyone in the bloggy-Facebooky World -- that everyone else is doing the same.

So please, network with caution, using a mental filter to sift through, recognizing that life will not be perfect for anyone this side of Heaven.

And know that for me and my little corner of the blogosphere, the bottom line is that I want your visit here to be a blessing -- never a discouragement!