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Oh My ...
Noah's mom takes a stab at temporarily filling his shoes ... (oh my!)
October 14, 2005 |
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By Barbara Rubin Brier
I can’t believe how daunting it feels to have been entrusted with writing for Noah’s blog! And the ‘brilliant’ billing certainly didn’t help -- I can’t remember when I’ve felt so at a loss. I’ve been racking my brain, trying to come up with something pithy (I LOVE that word!), reminding myself that that’s not what blogging is about, writing something but re-reading and finding it uninspiring … you get my drift. Then I opened an e-mail from a friend who happens to read Noah’s blog – who I actually met though Noah’s blog – who I told how nervous I was -- and she said:
“I don't know if I mentioned this to you, but I'm pretty close to starting a blog, but I'm still too nervous, for the reasons you mentioned re your contribution to Noah's blog. I think there is a definite process involved in getting comfortable with thinking that what you have to say is *important* enough or *cool* enough for others to read and not think it's a waste of time...�
So I’ve decided to tell you the story of how I met Andrea. It is, at the very least, an interesting twist on making connections. (Please be patient if I screw up the linking process!)
Some months ago, Noah posted a blog on thinking and tagging that really struck me, and I posted a comment, as I often do. In my post, I mentioned having enjoyed a post on tags by Jakob Lodwick, which Noah had linked to. I also wrote enough gushy mother stuff that Noah responded to my comment with two words: “Thanks mom.�
Later that day, I got an e-mail from someone named Andrea who began her note by saying, “I enjoyed your son Noah's post about tagging and I really enjoyed your response. You see, I am Jakob Lodwick's mom (he of the tagwebs essay)�, and concluded it with, “I just thought you might enjoy hearing from another proud mother-of-an-adult-child-on-display-on-the-internet.�
In fact, I was tickled pink to hear from Andrea, and responded (in part): “I loved getting your e-mail --both as a proud mom and as an ardent admirer of people who actively think about the impact of digital technology. You're right; not too many years ago, we would have had to depend on occasional visits and phone calls to keep up with our kids' lives. Now we have this special window that gives us access to what they really think about, know and do. More important, they're comfortable with that transparency in their lives, a characteristic I think is bred by a combination of their instinctive(?), reflective natures and their exposure to this extraordinary new digital world.�
I don’t know how many parents talk about this dimension of blogging, and I suspect some are less than thrilled with what their children post. But for me, Noah’s blog has reinforced our relationship during a period in his life when communication between us might well have dwindled. Blogging, and the internet, have given me an opportunity to learn from my son. As a result, it has expanded the scope of our relationship in a way that I'm not sure would have been possible otherwise. That's really something ...
AND I made a new friend! (Last week, Andrea and I spent a day together in NYC, getting to know each other.)
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