Skip to main content

Click "Like"

Sitting on my front porch looking out at the wide open space before me, wrapped in a warm blanket, drinking a cup of very strong coffee in the cool morning air I begin to ponder a few things.  When I began this blog I was a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, and family child care provider.  A lot has changed since then.

The fog is lifting, much as it is rising above the trees this morning.  I feel as if I'm free to make choices and decisions I once wasn't inclined to make.  I guess one wouldn't understand what freedom looks like unless they themselves have had their freedoms taken away.

There are many types of freedoms... the kind you have from living in America, the individual God granted freedoms all humans possess, the freedom to physically move about,  and the freedom to make good choices for yourself, and for those you love.  In marriages, the freedoms are limited to the constitution of that marriage.  You can have only one partner, live in one house in most cases.  There are certain things you can and cannot do, or maybe you can, but doing so would most certainly cause friction.

For me, my freedoms came once I left the confines of my home, stopped homeschooling my children, and closed my family child care business.  It was a difficult decision to make, but necessary at the time.  I had been dealing with depression and loneliness.  Although I was surrounded by beautiful children, I lacked adult interaction and an outlet.  Beading, drawing, blogging, and Facebook distracted me from this lonely feeling and I used them as a temporary means to feel validated, "liked" and connected with the outside world.

What does it mean to be "liked".  We see this option on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram... and so forth.  All of our social media have this, and we use it to let the person posting know we saw, acknowledged or "like" what we saw.  Is this the real world we are living in?  Are we trading in our true physical freedoms to live within the proverbial social media box?

Think about it.  Each picture we take has a caption.  Instead of taking photos to preserve memories, we do it out of vanity, arrogance, and promote self.  I'm guilty of this myself.  As I click the beautiful landscapes, my precious children, and photo's of myself the last thing on my mind is preserving the memory but how people on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will "like" it.  See... there's that validation factor.

Wanna know why most marriages don't work... there's no "like" button.  We would rather "like" or validate a mere stranger than the loved ones sitting on the sofa right next to us.  It's not just marriages, it's our children and other family members as well.

So, what is freedom?  Are you attached to social media and "like" button?  Would you rather be validated by a stranger, or by those you profess to love?  Instead of seeking validity from a stranger, or giving validation to someone you don't know, demonstrate the truth of how you feel and the truth of who you know you are to your family, friends and especially your own spouse. True freedom comes when YOU no longer require validation.  True freedom comes when you realize life has much more meaning when sitting on your front porch, looking out across the field, drinking your coffee on a cool fall morning.  True freedom is letting go of social media, creating real relationships, as well as memories with those around you.  True freedom is knowing who YOU yourself are.  It's when you no longer require confirmation of your presence or existence.  Show who you are by validating your feelings to those you love through your words and physical actions.

God bless....





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Future Outdoor Sportsmen and Sportswomen

What a weekend!  First we got snow, then we had the opportunity to go to our local Wildlife Management Area to look for sheds, rubs, tracks, scat, skeletal remains... or anything else we could find out there in the woods.  My husband and I enjoy getting the kids outdoors so they can experience nature first hand.  Our initial intent was to look for sheds.  Although we didn't find any sheds, we enjoyed what we did find, and the time we spent together, as a family.   Just as we entered the woods, I told my children to watch for dogs.  People are constantly dropping dogs off in these woods.  They toss pups they've killed, and often times dump them in nearby streams and watersheds.  I've even discovered whole litters of starving pups with an empty bag of torn open dog feed that had been left with them.  It's really sad.  It's also dangerous to people entering the WMA because the dogs are starving, wild, and afraid. Dog remains...

About Getting the Children Outdoors

With the encouragement of several followers, I had my sites set on creating an outdoor curriculum which could be taught in the classroom, public or homeschooled.  Not being one who likes to reinvent the wheel, I began to do some research and came across Acorn Naturalists   which provides educational books and tools for trail, as well as the classroom. After ordering their catalog, I realized the extent of their product line was way more than I could create on my own.   Acorn Naturalists has activities, teaching tools, and kits that cover a variety of natural and outdoor activities and lessons for all ages; particularly preschool through middle grades. For those outdoor enthusiast, I implore you take an interest in involving young children in your business or hobby.  I had written an earlier post in my blog called Changing the Looks of Things about inviting people into what you do to give them a better perception.  I'm not a wr...

A Home School Review! Time4Learning

I've been homeschooling my children for five years, all three of them.  I also school/tutor another child not my own.  We keep a pretty hectic pace at my home, and we try to stay at the forefront of education.  I try to stay on top of the best educational materials, and get the most for my money.  Regardless of what I do, what works for one child, doesn't necessarily work for the others.  In my five years of homeschooling, regardless of the programs, tools or curricula I use, I've found every child has their own learning style, and just because a particular curricula works for my family, doesn't necessarily mean it will work for another. My oldest child, a female, is self directed.  I've never had a problem getting her to start or complete a task. The boys, and my youngest child are far less motivated.  I have tried every curriculum in the book to keep them engaged, literally; Abeka, Christian Liberty Press, AOP, Bob Jones to name a few.  Althou...