30 Days::Day 4

I spoke way too soon yesterday. About one hour after I posted on here, I started getting the chills and low and behold more body aches and fever. Only, this time it was two-fold. I felt more sick yesterday than I did the day before. This morning, I won’t make any assumptions…(but I do feel better than I did last night). I was all ready to write a post for Love Thursday. Because, after all, it is and it is also V-Day and valentines day. love.love.love. I had some really cute photos of what love looked like to me this week. Maybe I can post all of that another day…I have never been very traditional anyhow. So…instead of that post, I have this one. I have been hesitating on whether to write about it or not, but I can’t seem to fling it from my mind…so I took that as my answer. I need to get it out. Yesterday, during a break in my fever, I went on-line and discovered that another blogger (who shall remain nameless in this space) had taken content from one of my posts and posted it on her blog without a link, a reference or mention of my name or my blog. Nothing. I am uncertain as to whether or not she was aware of what she was doing, that plagiarism is illegal. She altered a few things…replacing the names of my children with those of her own and she did leave out a bit of the text that was unique to me and my family…it just wouldn’t have fit or made sense in her blog, I suppose. She took my words and claimed them as her own. The situation was resolved quickly and painlessly. I submitted comment on her blog requesting that she rightfully take that specific post down, and she did. I know stuff like this happens all the time. I was aware of it when I started a blog and I weighed out the various factors and decided to start one and share in the way that I do because I really like the idea of trusting. We are only responsible for ourselves. I am responsible for what appears on this blog and I do my best to express myself honestly, hopefully and kindly. I guess that is why it stung a bit to see my words on someone else’s page where I was nowhere to be found. I am inspired and touched by people’s words and images every time I visit blogs. I often link to various bloggers because of something that I have connected with and appreciated or because they have inspired me to take their ideas and work them into my own life in some unique way. Linking is fine. It is more than fine, it is great! Link away! I think it helps build community, stir reflection, it shares the love. I *try* to make a conscious effort to give credit where credit is due…whether someone has inspired a certain project I want to partake in, or whether there words spoke to me deeply. This little experience is stirring up a lot of questions in me at the moment. Last night I kind of sprung into action after realizing what had happened. I think the experience itself, on top of the haziness this flu has left floating in my mind coupled with the fact that I was all hopped up on mama bear instinct made me a bit emotional about it all. I drew a few boundaries that I felt the need to draw and I reached out for some resources. Whoever was on the receiving end of those e-mails/convos: I hope my words were gentle and digestable. That was certainly my intent. The situation in itself is hurtful, yes...it stunk! But, of course there could be worse things. Images of my children were not taken, which is something I think would break my heart. But, the truth of it is…they could have been. And, this has got me re-evaluating some safety concerns that I struggle with. When I say safety…I certainly don’t mean that I fear for the well-being of my children or myself, because I don’t. I just mean that the images that I put up, realistically, can be accessed and reproduced by anyone for any purpose of their own. This here is a modest blog…it isn’t hit up by thousands of people a day. It is simply my heartfelt attempt at writing, at taking pictures, at working through thoughts and readings, at making and sharing some of my humble creations, at reaching out and building community in this sphere. None of it is good or bad…but it is Me. It is all pieces of my life. My children are a big part of my life at the moment…and that is why I share about them here. I have worked through my own stumbles of what I should share about them and what I should not at this tender age where they cannot give me their consent for what I do post. And, while I like to think all of us are one big family…you know as The Beatles say, “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together”…the reality is that it doesn’t feel good to be taken from when what was taken is dear to your heart. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so hung up on that…I’m not sure. I started this blog as a way to update family members of the growth and change of our family, and, like I have said before, FOR ME…it has morphed into something more personal and expressive. At times, I feel vulnerable expressing myself in the ways that I do…but I have also gotten so blessed by it and truthfully…it is really healing and freeing. You may be seeing some changes here…or you may not be seeing anything at all. This post is mostly stream of consciousness, I'm not trying to get all dramatic on ya. :) I will work through what lessons I can take away from this…what things did I need my eyes opened to, etc. I am going to take a light hiatus from posting so that I can go a little further down the rabbit hole. I will be back when I decide how I want to get out.