Over the past couple of weeks, I took a break from social media, trying to break my habit of scrolling mindlessly instead of engaging with those who matter most to me. It’s an unhealthy habit I’ve tried breaking for a long time, but kept coming up with excuses—I have friends I need to keep up with, and I need to be on Facebook to stay connected with local home educators and supporters. But do I really?
As I thought about reinstalling Instagram on my phone in order to share, I realised I’m not ready for that. My habits and desire to scroll are still too strong. I realised I can post the same content on my blog as I would share on Instagram, without the fancy algorithms to keep up with. Instagram has also gotten too complicated as it’s increasingly more video driven, and I don’t have time to keep up with that. I just want to share with the community of people I know and be myself.
I had the idea of restarting my blog. I’ve shared a lot about our son Titus on there in recent years, and he remains a large part of our journey as a family. However, talking with Leon made me realise that the season for sharing about him regularly is over. What consumes my life right now? Living life, my family, and home education. Why not share about those things?
When I think about what most of my (very few) blog readers feedback to me on, it’s my posts about the children. I enjoy talking about their activities, but our work in the ministry already exposes them more than I’d like.
Both Instagram and my blog are a journal of sorts for me to share my thoughts. I can also share glimpses of our family life. It would be my hope that my audience on Instagram would follow me over to the blog and subscribe so they don’t miss out! I may lose a lot of “followers” that way, but maybe it will narrow it down to those who matter most—the ones who really care.
So, if you’d like to keep up with us, don’t expect to see me on social media much these days. Instead, please subscribe to our newsletter and make certain you opt in for blog updates too. Newsletters go out about once a month, and blog updates are (hopefully) weekly.
Yes, share YOU! I’ve seen many time mothers of all ages hide in the shadows of the identities of their children. When you ask them, “Hey, how’s it going?, they will tell you every minute detail of their children and not one thing about themselves. The children, then leave the nest and then they are lost.
Don’t get lost Chrysti