Is my blog real enough?

http://www.keeperofthehome.org

There is an excellent post about how we 'appear' in blogging over at Keeper of The Home. It's posted today, called How Do I Do it All. Very good reading.

When folks visit here -- or anyone's blog -- they only see a snippet of what we are, how we do things, who we'd like to be. That can be misleading in many ways.

A couple years back, I was blogging elsewhere and was stumbled upon by a troll. We had quite the game of cat and mouse going. LOL...well, that isn't totally how it went. Remember the Tom & Jerry cartoons? That's a bit more realistic to how our game played out. About the only thing anyone saw from the purely childish banter and arguing was that there are layers to everyone. I try to keep my layers real, but I'm sure I've given folks a misleading view as well.

There are some bloggers who seem to do it all, have everything organized well, make the best use of their days and abilities, etc.

That's not me. Boy, that is definitely not me.

My SIL said something the other day about how much I know how to do and all I get done. She thought, from her perspective, that I was a sort of marvel of modern womanhood here on the homestead. I know how to bake and cook from scratch, I garden and can up the harvest, I sew our clothing, I homeschool "all these children" and so forth.

Well, I'd like to agree with her...I mean, in a way, she's right. I do do all those things. But in 'my circles' of reading and chatting, I'm just a babe on the path. I don't fit in well much of anywhere. I certainly don't fit well with the 'real' homesteaders and preppers I visit -- they are MILES ahead of me in knowledge and daily doings.
I don't fit in with the Plain christians I visit because we are still on the other side of the fence with living Plain here. Yet I don't fit with the rest of the world either, because to them I am far too Plain.

You could get rather discouraged following blogs and thinking about how good they look and how together they are. If you could look behind-the-scenes the view might be totally different than what you think. No one can live on a pedastal all the time.

I homeschool 6 children, while 2 wait in the wings for real school work. That could sound pretty misleading. What it doesn't show you is I spent many years being a curriculum-junkie, changing texts and looking for that next best thing and I just plain messed up my olders with the confusion. Sure, there are no deadlines in homeschooling and you can pace school how best it works, but you have to have some sort of visionary end in mind. Right now, I have an older who is way ahead in some areas and dreadfully behind herself in others.

I garden and try to keep our pantry stocked with what we produce ourselves by canning, freezing and drying. What you don't always see is I spend about $200 a month on junk we don't need to have -- I love nachos! I love sweet tea! I would rather drink a glass of Dr Pepper filled with ice than water anyday. I grab a chicken sandwich and a really big Dr Pepper from Sonic everytime I'm in town. Or a Chili Cheese Wrap. It's not that that's a bad thing, but let me tell you (or really I should let Dewey tell you!) It's those little things that add up the quickest.
You also don't see the many jars that didn't seal in the pantry, the several pounds of sausage I *still* haven't gotten canned -- since Thanksgiving!

Yes, I sew our clothes. Just about everything we need short of socks and shoes. All I can say is yes, I have the ability to sew. Yes, we have 4 good sewing machines and my treadle machine here. Yes, I have at least 200 yards or better of material in store here, cottons, cords and various denims. I have all the patterns we will ever need for our clothing.
What you might not see is that I barely get time to sew. That I've paid a dear friend to do the boys' pants for me when the only thing preventing my doing them was sheer laziness. My aprons are so worn I keep more clean without one than with! We are just this side of naked, really.
I go in spurts with sewing (and with a great many things, truth be told) where it's literally ALL we do for a couple of days, then I lose my motivation and just stop -- most usually mid-stream, leaving things in waiting.

There isn't much about me that isn't run of the mill everyday ordinary is all I'm saying. I'm long-winded at saying little to nothing more often than not. The only secret to share that I know of is if you want to know how to do something, read all about it, visit folks who do it and learn what you can...but if you never put that knowledge to practice you haven't done anything.

Don't waste the days checking out the green grass on the otherside of someones fence while allowing weeds to take over your side. They have plenty of weeds themselves, maybe just in other areas you don't see as readily.

No one is perfect at living day to day, and trust me, you can get very depressed blog-hopping and seeing what you think is a got-it-all-together blogger.
Use what information you find that's real, take it with you and get back to your own home to start implementing it. The Bible says you have not because you ask not...practical daily wisdom says you have not because you DO not. All the information in the world is only as useful as your putting into action!
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