Sometimes I am not so much in love with the worldwideweb and its powers ...
The two most troubling situations arise when:
1. I see that Google searches with the words "naked"and "Haitian girls" are a common way for total icky creepers to stumble upon our blog. (I don't love that very much.)
and
2. We occasionally find that people (blog readers) get annoyed/offended that we cannot arrange to meet up with them while they are in Haiti. They don't get why we cannot always come hang out upon request, even when/if it means driving an hour or more in ridiculous traffic and neglecting family and our work in order to do it. (I don't love that feeling very much.)
Putting yourself out there on the internet, but then having boundaries and the ability to say "No" even when it disappoints people is not an easy thing. We struggle to figure that whole thing out. It is clear we need to come up with a workable solution though - one that does not leave us feeling guilty for saying sorry, but no or resentful for saying yes when we had other things we needed to be doing.
However ...
I do love the way the web can connect hurting people to one another so that they can exchange stories and network. After the earthquake we were especially touched to connect with people who had walked similar roads and could tell us that we were not nuts, people to tell us we were experiencing normal grief and didn't need to apologize for that. (We loved that.) We've also seen prayers increase for our programs and people we love due to having invested readers that care about the work happening here. (We love that.)
The good outweighs the bad.
All that to say ...
My friend Christine wrote this a few days ago and asked me to pass the map along to the adoptive parents reading here:
"Are you parenting children from the hard places? Do you feel like the only person around you who sniffs every drop of liquid in your home to make sure it's not urine? Is your nightstand covered with books that include words like "trauma," "attachment," and "special needs" in the titles? Do you dream of running away on vacation, but struggle with justifying the payback upon your return?
Well, guess what?
And I'm not kidding you.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!"
Click here to see the proof.
If you are parenting traumatized, hurt children - please find Christine's post for proof you are not alone and for more proof that the internet is not all bad.
The two most troubling situations arise when:
1. I see that Google searches with the words "naked"and "Haitian girls" are a common way for total icky creepers to stumble upon our blog. (I don't love that very much.)
and
2. We occasionally find that people (blog readers) get annoyed/offended that we cannot arrange to meet up with them while they are in Haiti. They don't get why we cannot always come hang out upon request, even when/if it means driving an hour or more in ridiculous traffic and neglecting family and our work in order to do it. (I don't love that feeling very much.)
Putting yourself out there on the internet, but then having boundaries and the ability to say "No" even when it disappoints people is not an easy thing. We struggle to figure that whole thing out. It is clear we need to come up with a workable solution though - one that does not leave us feeling guilty for saying sorry, but no or resentful for saying yes when we had other things we needed to be doing.
However ...
I do love the way the web can connect hurting people to one another so that they can exchange stories and network. After the earthquake we were especially touched to connect with people who had walked similar roads and could tell us that we were not nuts, people to tell us we were experiencing normal grief and didn't need to apologize for that. (We loved that.) We've also seen prayers increase for our programs and people we love due to having invested readers that care about the work happening here. (We love that.)
The good outweighs the bad.
All that to say ...
My friend Christine wrote this a few days ago and asked me to pass the map along to the adoptive parents reading here:
"Are you parenting children from the hard places? Do you feel like the only person around you who sniffs every drop of liquid in your home to make sure it's not urine? Is your nightstand covered with books that include words like "trauma," "attachment," and "special needs" in the titles? Do you dream of running away on vacation, but struggle with justifying the payback upon your return?
Well, guess what?
And I'm not kidding you.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!"
Click here to see the proof.
If you are parenting traumatized, hurt children - please find Christine's post for proof you are not alone and for more proof that the internet is not all bad.
