I have a burning desire to keep things real. It’s a bit hard to do when we are all drowning in social media feeds with filtered selfies, pictures of spotless homes and perfect family photos. Truthfully, my family smiles the most when we give each other a hard time or a dog farts. Other than that, someone is grumpy about school, stressing about college preparation, frustrated with friends, seeing their therapist, or exhausted from making a living.
Most days it isn’t pretty, and it certainly isn’t typical Instagram material. But that’s real life. I live in a land where no one refills the toilet paper, dog poop and laundry are endless, and the 18-year existence of my stretch marks continues to piss me off. And please don’t be fooled by the above photo. Just prior to sitting, I scooped up this dog’s stinky dump off the patio beneath .
Prior to launching this blog I wrote a column for our local newspaper. I shared honest stories of parenting, marriage and friendship. I loved writing the column. Then life got in the way. My kids needed my full attention and it was all consuming. So I stopped writing.
It has tugged on my heart and soul ever since. I knew I needed to return to writing but the world changed. Printed newspapers were dying and social media had exploded. I allowed myself to be left behind. I lost confidence, feeling like I had no venue to share my writing.
I began to consider a blog several years ago but the technology learning curve was substantial, and honestly, I chickened out. But I continued to be haunted by my dream, so at a snail’s pace, I’ve learned some of the basics of multiple blogging technologies and social media ins and outs. Truthfully, I’m still struggling with the social media part. But rest assured, if I’m going in on that, it’s gonna be real and not a continual series of perfectly posed pictures. That’s not real life; the bags under my eyes are.
My greatest hope is my honest writing will help you feel less alone in this crazy time of parenting, marriage and midlife.
Most importantly I would like to thank all of my former readers who encouraged me to write again. Nothing gives you a shot of confidence like someone telling you your silly columns made them laugh and they want more of you.
So now is the time. I’m back. It took me waaaaaay longer that I expected, but I’m back. My former column, Tales From the Trenches is now my new blog baby, Flirting With a Felony. I am humbled and deeply touched that old and new readers allow me into their busy lives.
Thanks for joining me and keeping me out of prison. Pretty sure my kids appreciate it, though maybe not – they only appreciate things with screens.
