Argh.
I'm a pretty private person in real life. I share stuff with my family and close friends. I'm pretty uncomfortable opening up my life to people who might want to anonymously criticize me for my beliefs, or how Jim and I are raising our children or whatever. So many crazies out there.
BUT, I've also "met" some really, really nice people (I'm lookin at you, Deborah and Heidi)...and my real life is full of women who are constant sources of encouragement and support for me and my family.
I love writing on my blog, but I don't link it to my Facebook page on a regular basis. Sometimes, but not always. The reason is because of Joshua.
I love to write about Joshua on my blog, but he doesn't know I write about him. I don't know how he'd feel about it. I think he'd be okay with me writing about some of his antics, it's just when I write about the serious stuff...I don't know. The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt his feelings, or make him feel embarrassed. Or sad.
I have Facebook, IG (martythemoose) and Twitter (moosethemarty), too. My IG is private, but I always accept people who read the blog.
I struggle with how public to be about everything. I really want to encourage as many people as I can with Joshua's story. And with Clark's. It's constantly a matter of prayer.
Privacy.
Everyone wants to know everything about everybody...and we live in an age where that is entirely possible!
My father-in-law? He has fought against technology with everything that's in him. He's convinced that the internet is the devil. He thinks credit cards are the downfall of all humanity, and that if you can't pay using cold, hard cash...then you probably shouldn't buy it. He's not wild about banks...a feeling that, until recently, my mother-in-law did not share. But when she took a large check to DEPOSIT at her local bank branch down by The Krogers...the teller said she couldn't deposit it because "SHE DIDN'T KNOW HER."
Because she didn't know my mother-in-law.
Because the TELLER didn't know my MOTHER-IN-LAW, she told my MOTHER-IN-LAW that she couldn't deposit the check AT THE BANK WHERE SHE'S DONE ALL HER BANKING BUSINESS FOR UMPTEEN YEARS.
My mother-in-law just couldn't believe it. She said, "you won't take this check FOR DEPOSIT because you don't KNOW me?" And the lady said, "yes, ma'am." And my mother-in-law said, "well, I don't know YOU either, but I bring my money in here all the time anyway."
I mean...have you ever?
Anyway, that's how my mother-in-law put the hurt on that bank when she pulled all of her money out of it.
My father-in-law...he'd prefer to keep his money close. That's all I'm gonna say about that. And he "don't want no credit cards." Which, if you want to live in the 1800's...that's a good philosophy. But if you live in 2015, and you want to, say, buy a cell phone...and you go to the cell phone place...and they don't have any record of you...because everything is all in your wife's name...and you don't have any credit...because you pay cash for everything...well, let's just say that you will not be getting a cell phone from them.
No sir.
Not even if you go home and get your bank statements and bring them back to the cell phone place to "prove" you have money.
Yep. That actually happened.
And. there was the more recent time when he tried to write a $6000 check for a lawn-mower at the tractor supply store and they wouldn't take it. Because, again, no credit history.
And also, because he was dressed
You know, over-HAWLS and his boots, talking real loud because he can't hear. And he keeps his "teef" in his pocket.
I know we're not supposed to judge people by their appearances, but if you want to write a $6000 check for a lawn-mower, then you might want to spruce yourself up for the occasion. You know, try to look like you know what's going on...instead of like someone who just came down from the mountain.
So there may or may not have been a loud scene made about it, and we may or may not have had to add that store to the list of places my father-in-law can't go anymore...like, the bakery, the Chinese restaurant, the scrap metal place, the Outback...and the bank down by The Krogers.
But as much as he rails against technology, he went and got himself an iPHONE (well, he had to call my mother-in-law to come to that phone store and give the people "all of her numbers..." before he got the phone. And, even tho he is convinced that people are out to get "all of his numbers" so that they can take all his money and listen to his phone conversations and monitor where all he goes...he loves that phone. He taught himself to text, and he texts Jim and I, and all of our kids, and it is SO HELPFUL to be able to text someone who is severely hard of hearing. I wish my Dad would try to figure out an iPHONE. It would tickle me to no end.
My father-in-law also got an IPAD, and he's been trying to learn how to use it. One time, he tried to "face-time" Jim. He was yelling on the IPAD because he didn't know if it was working. We could hear him yelling, "YELLO? YELLO? IS THIS ON? YELLO? I DON'T THINK THIS IS WORKING. YELLO? JACK! I DON'T THINK THIS IS WORKING. GOOD NIGHT ABOVE."
And during this event, Jim is trying to "connect" with his dad, and we are falling on the floor laughing.
My father-in-law tried to "hide" his IPAD from everyone and keep it put up at their house. But, he needed so much help with it that he would bring it out to ask questions about it...and some of the family members would occasionally use it when they were there for a weekend...and when everyone left, he said it wouldn't work for him because "people changed his password."
And so he would shake his IPAD like it was an etch-a-sketch, trying to get it to work.
OH MY GOODNESS.
I think there's maybe a happy medium out there, but it does require some work...and diligence. I want to protect my family, but yet I also want to share Joshua's story and our stories of our life with him. I want to be able to share Clark's story as well.
I just want to always point to God as the SOURCE of all joy...and of every good thing in our lives.
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11
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