I got one of those comments today . . . one of those comments that essentially boils down to, "Get off your computer and be a mom." Thanks to the magic of Woopra, it was easy to figure out that the person who left the comment had never visited this site before, was here for a few seconds, and didn't come back. In other words, it was Copy and Paste Troll, likely working his or her way around the internet spreading good tidings of cheer and stupidity.
Easily dismissed. VERY easily dismissed.
Except, you know, the message behind the comment is out there. There are people who hold the theory that if you are blogging about your kid, you aren't taking care of your kid. Maybe there are people who genuinely have addiction issues and get lost in the world of social media. Maybe there are people who need to put down the iPhone and try talking to the people in front of them. Maybe there are people who take it all too far. Maybe.
But.
But, I can easily dismiss that sort of theorizing for one simple reason: blogging makes me a better parent.
It's true.
I could go on and on about how this little website has helped me to do my most important job better, but really it boils down to one word: awareness.
Thanks to the community, I'm more aware of what of what works and what doesn't. She taught me to accept my kid for who she is. She taught me to jump into those silly moments and take photos so I can relive the moments later. She taught me that open communication doesn't have to stop when kids hit the teen years. She taught me that it's OK to be the bad guy from time-to-time. So many people have taught me so many things . . . it's absolutely amazing.
More important, however, is what I've learned from myself. I want to be the parent that I "play" on this site. I want to make the best decisions possible. I want to give Alexis every opportunity I can. I want to the best parent I can be. I don't like it when the stand-out moment from a day is full of parenting fail. Rather than wallowing in those failures (and there are plenty of them), I try to really learn from them, think about them, and find a way that I could have handled the situation and walked away proud of myself. Proud enough to write about it here.
I can honestly say that this site is an accurate reflection of who I am. I'm proud of that fact. Blogging has forced me to really evaluate myself every single day.
I'm often asked why I post daily (and essentially have for over four years). There's lots of reasons for it, but one comes down to making sure I'm being the best parent I can be. Every day when I sit down to write, one of two things happen--either I immediately know what I'm going to write about, or I have absolutely no clue what I'm going to write about. When I don't know, I ask myself a question, "What made today different than every other day?" If I can't answer that, I know that I skated through the day. I didn't pay enough attention to Alexis, I didn't provide enough opportunities for a unique sort of day, or I just plain called it in. Regardless, it makes me aware that I need to do a better job the next day.
Kids are the ultimate source of blog fodder. I just have to live life fully enough to notice what mine is doing.