How much I is TMI? Blogging and self-censorship

Last week, I posted something I never thought I would put out there on the internet: My weight. I’ve posted about skimpy undergarments, cosmetic surgery, my children’s development, body image, parenting struggles, and financial problems. Last night I wrote a blog entry that I decided to censor.

It’s a very tricky line to walk, this blogging thing. Honesty is the coin of the realm. But what I put out there is truly, truly out there. It can be read by anyone, anytime. I have been doing some serious thinking over the last few months about what I will do with myself when the kids go to school full time, and a career in mental health is certainly not out of the realm of possibility. Would someone hiring me read the blog? If I work with clients, would they find it? I am completely comfortable with what I have put out there so far, but what I wrote last night crossed some lines that are better left uncrossed.

So no wacky Pam musings today. Just some introspection on how much of myself I am willing to share in a truly public forum. Right now, I would share it all. I have nothing to hide. But my future self may feel differently. I need to keep in mind that my kids may read this blog one day. My kids’ teachers may read it, or their friends’ parents.

I will probably never have a career in politics. If someone wanted to dig up dirt on me, they wouldn’t have to dig much. It would be kind of like an Easter egg hunt for two-year-olds. Just look. There it is. But this blog is my public voice, and I am realizing that there are some things—a very few things—that might be better kept private.

Luckily for you all, I’m still good with letting most of it hang out. And speaking of letting it all hang out, I am headed to the beach this morning… in my bikini. Wish me luck.