Goodbye, Sweet Blog

Well, it's time.  As much fun as blogging has been, it's time for it to retire.  The main reason, my life is WAY too insane.  But the other reason, I wrote about in my upcoming May editor letter. Here is a sneak peek of the rough draft.  NOTE: I am by NO means judging anyone, this is just my opinion for myself.  Thanks to my "fans" -- and if you want to catch up or get my Dish opinions, call me or let's do lunch! :)

Editor Letter – May 09

For the Love of Blog
By Judy Hut

My daughter thinks my hobby is the computer. That’s what she told her teacher in an interview about me. When I asked her why she said that, she simply answered, “You eat, sleep and work on the computer.” Ouch. I always thought I was much more well-rounded, but she may be right.

Since I work from home, my laptop is never far from me. I try to get most of my work done during work hours, but I sometimes work on the evenings and weekends. I wish I could say all my computer time is work-related, but it’s not. I Google, I.M., email, shop online, text, download music and Facebook. I try to keep up on my blog and when I’m not doing mine, I’ll blog-stalk others. My only hold-out is Twitter. I really don’t need one more thing to add to the list.

My daughter’s observation got me thinking. Is a mom on her computer all day my generation’s version of the stereotypical mother who watches soaps and eats Bon Bons? Even though my tube of choice is a computer and not the TV, does all the time I spend still make me a couch potato? And the most importantly, am I wasting my time?

Oh, I can justify my computer use to make myself feel better. First, I’m a writer. The Internet is another outlet for me to express myself, right? Blogging is my online journal. It’s better than snail mail to send messages and pictures to my distant family and friends. Second, it’s my way to connect. I don’t have a lot of time to meet friends for lunch or spend hours on the phone. Instead, connecting online is a fast, convenient way to keep up my social life. I started hearing more about what my nieces and nephews are doing once I signed up for Facebook.

Are these really justifications or just excuses? There is so much attention put on how much time kids spend on the computer, but maybe it’s time for mom to evaluate the way she spends her free time too. Techno-savvy moms are complemented for keeping up with the changing times, but there’s a growing problem of moms getting addicted to the Internet and withdrawing from the real world. Some mothers may feel like they are above such things and that Internet addiction is reserved for teens or the socially challenged. Yet, more and more reports are showing that women are suffering from the same addiction.

Ironically, I Googled “are you addicted to the Internet?” and found several online quizzes, some serious and some not, to see if I was truly an Internet Addict. It came no surprise to me that (by their consensus) I am. The question I thought was most poignant was “do you have more friends in real life or online?” By my current 239 friend count on Facebook, the answer is probably online. If their definition of friend is people I keep in touch with frequently, then it is DEFINITELY online. I definitely don’t get together with that many people regularly. I’ve always been very social, but in my 30’s, a lot of friendships have fallen by the wayside thanks to my ever-growing family commitments. That’s understandable, but the more I think about it, I definitely don’t want my social circle to be limited to the World Wide Web.

It’s time for me to cut back. I could never go cold turkey. Nor would I want to. I’m going to start by -- dare I write this, giving up my blog. I don’t want to find out how my friends are doing solely online. Reading up on their lives via RSS feed shouldn’t be a substitute. I am missing out on real face-to-face interaction and relationships. I’m going to make a more concerted effort to make plans with my friends, reconnect in person with those from my past and attend more neighborhood and church functions to meet new people. I’m taking baby steps until I fully realize that life I envision for myself and then, hopefully, I will be well-rounded after all.