If you've been reading blogs for a while, you've probably done it. You may have one or two that you keep going back to. You know, the Train Wreck blogs. Whether it's the woman who seems to think her readers are out to get her for her political or religious views, or the woman who's taking all kinds of criticism over the way she runs her family or her home. There are some amazing wrecks out there.
When Sarah died, I experienced this briefly. The 25,000 hits I got in one month alone did not come from concerned family and friends. I was overwhelmed and hurt, touched by some, angry at others. Having a Trainwreck blog wasn't the most fun I've had with this.
The thing is, I'm a person. A real, live, person, who sometimes takes anonymous internet opinions too much to heart. In the six years I've been writing this blog, I've put a lot of myself into it. This is my family, my story, my life. It's hard not to take it personally when people don't like it. But not everyone will. And I'm a lot more okay with that now than I was five years ago when we lost our baby.
I don't think there's anything wrong with slowing down to watch the trainwreck. Or even checking in to see what's going on now. It's human nature. Most of us are drawn to it. But I think that we do have to remember that the people writing these blogs are as real as we are (probably) and that if we really want to help, being compassionate as well as honest and sincere will probably go a lot farther than a rant.
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