What if I just let loose and wrote about the stuff I'm really just dying to say?
Think I already do that?
Wrong!
I edit who I am here. Big time.
Out of fear that someone I know might find this blog and call me a heretic or question how charitable I'm being or decide I'm not good enough to have our kids play together. Or think I don't belong at the school or the parish.
I'm not saying what you see here is fake. It's not. It's just edited for my protection (and maybe yours?).
Editing is part of writing. We make jokes because we cannot bear too much reality. Be charitable with yourself. This is your blog, your writing, your thoughts. How much you wish to share or not, is an issue of prudence and personality, those who love your writing/and thinking, know they are getting what you are willing to give, and grateful for it. I edit my stories for humor sometimes, because my dad taught me, "never let the truth ruin a good story." which was a way of saying, it's okay to edit for effect. You are not under oath to tell everything you think or all of it.
ReplyDeleteWe all do that regardless of the medium. Very few are let close enough to see our true selves in all it's glory and gore.It's sanity preserving at times and growth limiting at other times. It doesn't mean you are not authentic, just that you are revealing what you choose.
ReplyDeletePrudence *is* a virtue.
ReplyDeleteSusan
Personally I like your "let-it-all-hang-out, critics-be-damned" posts, though I fully understand and support your reasons for self-editing. After all, isn't that one of the reasons for closing down your old blog? The fresh start you long for pretty much requires a change from your old habits. I still love reading what you write, and find your posts interesting and thought-provoking!
ReplyDeleteCaroline Landon
I feel like I edit myself all the time in real life, and to some extent feel like my children don't even know the real me.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if this is good or not. It just is. Being raised in a very authoritarian household, I was always deeply aware that I must be a "good example". And so I try to be, for my children. I don't think they've even heard me samn "Damn" once.
Behind closed doors, with my husband, where I can really be me.....I laugh at dirty jokes (the same ones I'd chew my kids out for telling) and let the F word fly, when I am so inclined.
It's probably better for my kids that I self-edit, but I do sometimes think they are probably in for one hell of a surprise one of these days, when I finally decide they are old enough to handle who their mother really is.....or at least old enough to pay for their own therapy if they can't.