I Can Do Everything You Can Do… Differently.

Reflecting on this week, I see a reoccurring theme.

The post I wrote on Monday about rebellion in the form of parenting got very positive reactions.  Most parents and, especially mothers, can relate to a desire to parent in their own way.  To pick the things that are most important to them, as a parent, and focus on those things.  Most people, me included, are proud of those choices and hold tight to them.

The point of my post on Monday was that though I’m proud of those choices and, clearly, thought they were the best choice for our family, I recognize that they are not the only way to do things.  Yet, I also get the feeling that my choices somehow come off as judgements on other parents.

My friend Diana over at Hormonal Imbalances and I have commiserated over this over and over again.  We have had long conversations about how our choices are our choices.  That doesn’t mean we’re judging anyone else’s, just putting our’s out there in an effort to connect.  Yet, we both frequently get heated reactions when we share our priorities, like the reactions to her post on Monday.  (Kim over at Baby Feet – another awesome blog – wrote a nice follow up post to Diana’s and there were more heated reactions.)

I recently found a Holistic Moms group in the area.  The group is meant as a place for moms to connect on the choices they have made that don’t always fit in.  There is no definition to what makes someone a holistic mom because we all have different definitions of what that means.  It is just a safe haven for discussion.  Shouldn’t our blogs be that same thing for all topics?

We all want to do our best.  We all make decisions that work for us and don’t want to be held to other people’s standards.  Why is it so easy to take someone’s words personally when they aren’t intended that way?  How do my priorities, stated on my blog come off as a judgement on others when I only talk about myself?

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