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One of the things I really enjoy doing is searching the internet for new or old things to make or do. I must confess that I lack originality. I have to go in search of inspiration and ideas. Lately I have particularly enjoyed Pinterest. Every new social media outlet that emerges draws criticism as well as praise and Pinterest is no different. I recently read an article that claimed social media websites primarily appeal to narcissists. I understand where that criticism comes from. There is some truth in it. We paint the prettiest picture of ourselves from an image we would like to project and we allow lots of people to see that image on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on our fabulous, artistic and very hip Pinterest boards (apparently I have 39 followers).  But here's how I see it. For those who are my age Facebook is a giant CB radio. It's a way to connect. Breaker, breaker 19, I'm out here, I exist...are you listening?! And for everyone else it's a year long Christmas newsletter. And for most people Pinterest is a giant infinity bulletin board, as colorful and vast as the far reaches of the internet, filled with ideas and inspiration.

A few years ago I wrote a tongue-in-cheek Christmas newsletter that described my perfect family and perfect pets neither of which ever did anything wrong or made any kind of mess. I had read another article at that time mocking and slamming Christmas newsletters because people only put the good news in them. My point in the opening paragraph of my newsletter was that people do not want to hear about my root canal. They do not want to hear the nitty-gritty day-in, day-out drudgery of laundry, allergies, dog poop on the floor or for that matter the skin cancer scare, the terrible car accident, the death of beloved family. The Christmas newsletter is not the place for the bad news nor is it the place to betray the privacy of those you love. My kids are not celebrities, they did not sign away their right to privacy by going public on the world's stage. I do not have the right or the desire to share any of the normal or unusual struggles they may have faced as children, preteens, or teenagers. My kids are not Brittany Spears or Justin Bieber...so if I only report their accomplishments and accolades then things are just as they should be. The only way to present a fair and balanced view of my family would be to include details that would violate all my relationship boundaries and that no one would enjoy reading in that particular format anyway.

So to me, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. are all ways for people to connect and they do not necessarily reflect the whole picture of a person or their life. They are not meant to. Hopefully through these connections with old High School buddies and current friends we develop some more in-depth relationships and it is with those people that we share our disappointments, our sorrows, our many prayer requests. There are people who know there are cracks in the jar. I rely on their prayers to keep my jar from shattering! Before I wrote this I spoke to one of those trusted friends and expressed my fear that my enjoyment of social media outlets meant that I was a flaming narcissist. It was through that conversation with her that these ideas emerged. As we spoke I remembered the Christmas newsletter article and how I felt about it and in listening to her, someone who knows me apart from my computer, I could see my interest in social media for what it is, a connection. There may be a little self-aggrandizement for all of us in posting on Facebook but if that is not your main purpose and if you are aware of it then it takes on the same struggle we have when we lunch with friends. How much do we talk about ourselves? How much do we brag on our kids? How much of the personal and difficult things do we reveal? And the answers will be different depending on who we are talking to. And most important, in our face to face communication we can ask about the other person and hear about their lives, good and bad.

So I will continue to be involved in social media until I get bored with it or it becomes intrusive. For now, here are some of the cool things I have found on Pinterest, if you click on the titles it takes you to the original source and not the Pinterest page, some of the images are from the credited source and some are from Pinterest:

20 refreshing smoothie recipes from Better Homes and Gardens:

Cute Animal pictures:

Bunny:

So Cute!!

Baby platypi (platypuses?)- we prefer Belvi to Belvises, I don't know what platypii prefer!:

 Craft Ideas, little felt owl, Bailey recently made this for a friend's birthday!: 

 knitted bunnies

 Gardening; herbs in pots (This picture inspired my herb garden):

 Travel and places: Wales

 Pinterest is like a giant magazine of beautiful images. As in all of life there is also some junk and crassness. But overall there are categories for DIY and crafts, education, books, sayings, gardening, outdoor, travel and places, fitness, pets, science and nature, history, art, architecture, design, food --all filled with beautiful images and ideas. For my quilting friends, I must mention that I have seen some beautiful quilts posted recently, since I don't quilt I have not "pinned" any of those. Happy Pinning!