to share, or not to share

When I started this blog, I knew that I wanted to share my opinions, my experiences and glimpses into my life with all of you.  I wanted to make new friends and I wanted a creative outlet that was honest and authentic but at the same time I was conscious of the fact that it was my decision to share, not the boys'.  My beautiful little peanut, so precious and vulnerable, as much as I wanted to share, I needed to keep him safe.

So after only a couple posts I removed all traces of the boys name from the blog and simply dubbed him, the boy.  This somehow made me feel safer; knowing that strangers would never be able to call his name from afar and convince him that they were friends.  A parents worst nightmare.

And yet, from what I understand, its not strangers that are most likely to prey on our children, its people we know, its people our children know. When the boy was first born a teacher friend cautioned us against sharing photos on Facebook, rattling off scary statistics about the people most likely to prey on your children.  It scared me, but I eventually decided my need to share with friends and family was stronger than the fear.  That being said, my Facebook photos all have privacy settings that prevent strangers from viewing my boy.

But is that really enough?

I post pictures of the boy here on my blog, but I rarely post pictures of his face in its entirety or really anything that I feel is just a little too intimate for public consumption.

I struggle with this regularly, I've always loved photography, I even worked in a photo lab when I went to university.  And since I got my Nikon D3000 for my birthday I've been snapping photos like crazy.  There have been so many gorgeous photos of the boy that I long to share with you all, but I just can't.

I'm jealous of people like Kelle and Lolli and Karen Lisa who feel free enough to share beautiful photos of their families on their blogs.  Granted all three of these particular women are professional photographers, but its not just them.  All you Momma's who share the photos of your children; I respect you, envy you even.

But I can't.  My boy just feels safer, tucked away on my harddrive and scattered throughout my home.  And when I read about Momma's who have had their little boys photos exploited, my heart breaks for the famliy, but it simply reaffirms to me, that for us, for our family, this sliver of privacy is the right thing.

Where is your line in the sand? 

Just how much of your family are you willing to share with your readers?

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