Mummyblogging is dead. (The things I would tell you)

by Veronica on November 17, 2016

in Gotta Laugh

Mummyblogging is dead.

We all know it.

It died in the face of perfectly filtered instagram photos, posed and cropped for maximum rose-coloured-glasses blur. It died in the face of recipes full of hidden vegetables and sickly coconut oil truffle imposters. It died in the face of all our kids grew up and we realised we couldn’t talk about them on the Internet anymore. It died in the face of sponsored post after sponsored post, hey guys, look at my brand new glasses/holiday/chocolate brownies with no real chocolate in. It died, and we mourn its passing in the same way we kind of mourn leggings as pants (long live the yoga pants, you can pry them off my dead body) and real cake with real sugar and actual gluten (holy fuck I miss gluten).

But.

But.

If I was mummyblogging still, I would tell you about Evelyn laying so still, and so calm, as she was measured for a full body orthotic suit to help keep her joints together at kindergarten next year. I would tell you about dislocating joints, and muscle fatigue and pain, about how she tries so hard, but her muscles can’t do the job of her ligaments all of the time and she’s so very tired. I would tell you how she wants to play and dance and run, and can’t, but maybe she can soon again. With a little help.

I would tell you how Evelyn spoke to another child at prekinder today – a first for her. She asked someone to play and they did, and then they ran around together, two small children, riding bikes and playing in the water together. I would tell you how she excitedly told her teacher in front of the entire class that we put up our Christmas tree early and I was so proud of her for using her words that I nearly burst, because this child. This child of mine, she struggles sometimes to find the words in new situations or with new people or even with people she sees regularly, like her prekinder classmates.

I would tell you about the whining whining whining until your teeth are as on edge as mine, but maybe it’s pain, maybe it’s exhaustion, maybe being four and the littlest just is the Worst Thing Ever and so there’s that tone in her voice until you just want to scream.

I would tell you all about how seven sucks so badly you can taste it, but ten is pretty awesome, and there’s a sense of humour brewing in there, even if it is borderline inappropriate sometimes. Hilarious though.

I would tell you about trying to juggle what is best academically with what is best physically for a child who needs help in both of these areas. I would tell you about the exhaustion of shouting GO TO BED a hundred times in a row until finally they crash and you crash and there’s not enough hours in the day.

I would tell you all about juggling school commitments and work, and parenting bendy kids with bendy joints and bendy quirky brains. I would tell you about packing soap with a child screaming under the worktable until your eyes spin around and everything is ruined forever.

I would tell you all of these things, but mummyblogging is dead.

So sad.

Dorothy November 17, 2016 at 9:13 pm

Maybe, but blogging isn’t and I still have my fave bloggers whom I read religiously, including you. So good to see your words here again.

Maxabella November 17, 2016 at 9:41 pm

Facebook killed mummyblogging. Or maybe it was Instagram.

I hope Evelyn goes okay in her super suit. x

Kate November 17, 2016 at 9:53 pm

I tried to blog again for a bit. I thought that’s what was missing for me, writing about things.

But that wasn’t it it turns out.

And for me, where once mummyblogging provided an escape from my hidden reality these days I don’t need to escape from real life, so perhaps it served its purpose.

I hope kinder orientation goes well. I cannot fathom your kids being those ages. They grow up when you’re not looking hey?

xx

Blossom November 18, 2016 at 2:29 pm

I still have a few blogs I still read.

I hope Evelyn does well with her suit. I’m sorry she needs it but I’m glad it’s there for her to have.

Parenting is hard.

Many hugs

Happy Elf Mom (Christine) November 18, 2016 at 6:14 pm

Not dead. Just readers are aware of the flash and the polish. Also? Some mommybloggers really humiliated their kiddos also. The real truth doesn’t ALWAYS have to be shared.

I have always appreciated a genuine connection with many other mothers on the internet but there always were and always will be limits, yk? God bless you and your lovely family always.

river November 18, 2016 at 7:45 pm

I do hope the suit helps Evelyn keep herself together at school and hope it isn’t too hot to wear. Amy and Isaac will look out for her at school too won’t they?
I can understand Mummy blogging dying away, the kids have grown, the mums have other things to be getting on with and of course facebook and instagram are all over the place, not to mention twitter.
But it’s like everything else, each has its time and then time moves on.

Watershedd November 18, 2016 at 10:01 pm

I still have my blog. It ticks over quietly occasionally. It’s having a long sleep, but not gone. But I always store for me; anyone else who wanted to listen was welcome. It was and remains a place to express what sometimes is had to say and to exercise my own ideals.

Blogging is my dead; in fact, I expect as we become more aware of the limitations of social media, how it blinkers us, blogging may rise again.

Rachael McIntosh November 23, 2016 at 11:09 am

Oh I know that feeling. There’s no going back though is there? But I miss sharing, and keeping up with people I liked and admired, and that sense of community.

Hope all goes well with the suit and the times and the transition. Lovely to hear a bit about how all those littles are going.

Lots of love to you xxx

Vanessa November 29, 2016 at 8:50 pm

I just wanted to leave you a message and let you know that I thought about you, and how much I’ve learned about E.D. since having known you via your blog and facebook.

I was watching Greys Anatomy the other night, and this girl came in with all these mysterious symptoms, and as I watched Dr Webber and Dr Karev puzzle it out, I was nearly rolling my eyes going, “OMG, it’s OBVIOUSLY Ehlers Danlos Syndrome!” and it was! I wouldn’t even have known what they were talking about, had it not been for you. Good job on helping people understand the condition 🙂

Kari December 6, 2016 at 3:36 pm

I kind of get it, but sometimes when you need to vent or share or just…be…blogging is a good avenue. I love the children of my friends and those I follow online. Evelyn is ready to go into Kindergarten?? I feel like I blinked for too long….and I cannot believe I’ve been following you since Amy was a baby!! I believe we will circle back to what was real, and started us all with our online connections. Also….the boyfriend was planning a trip to NZ for an Ironman race and I was trying to figure out how to squeeze in a visit (not in a stalker kind of way) so I could buy soaps and say hi!! See…the power of blogging…it’s real!

Zoe December 20, 2016 at 12:09 am

Hi Veronica,
My 16yo daughter, Katie, and I live in South Africa. We have not had an official diagnosis, but we are both very sure that Katie has EDS. Lately, among many other symptoms which have gradually been showing up since she was about 12 but seem to have accelerated with increasing puberty, she has been feeling very nauseas, which is what brought me to your blog. Your entry about nausea back in August 2010 exactly describes Katie’s, and so I just wanted to say a huge Thank You for keeping your blog. It has certainly helped me – I only wish that you didn’t have to write it!! Lots of hugs to you and your little one(s?), Zoe

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