"It just is."

I've had a couple people - nonbloggers, obviously - comment to me recently about how "open" I am on the internet. People from my generation, who didn't grow up with the internet, tend to be a little uncomfortable sharing their life as an ongoing narrative in a world-wide forum like this. Nearly all the bloggers I've met in real life are some 10 years younger than me.

One person asked me, "Aren't you nervous putting such personal stuff online? I mean, you put really personal stuff on your blog."

Really?

I don't think I do. I don't blog about my relationship with my husband. I never talk about fights, disagreements, problems. Not that I'm trying to pretend to you all that we don't have them. Just that that's personal. Sharing that kind of stuff can't help my marriage. I mean, is he REALLY going to start putting his clothes into the hamper simply because my commenters all AGREE that he should not be dropping them on the floor?

I don't blog about things that are going on in my kid's life. You "mommybloggers" don't know how easy you got it...all that available content at your disposal. You THINK you'll keep blogging about your kids when they're teenagers because they'll be so accustomed to you sharing their lives with the internets. HA! Not if you ever want them to speak to you again. Being a teenager is hard, in case you've forgotten. The last thing a high schooler needs is his mom telling the world about his recent break up.

I don't blog about bodily functions. I don't blog about my extended family. I don't blog about things I don't like about myself.

So I can only guess that she was talking about my alcoholism. But being in recovery isn't anything that I'm ashamed of. (Believe me,the shame was in the way I was BEFORE I quit drinking. And no, I'm not going to blog about that, either.) Being a recovering alcoholic is just part of who I am. I don't think I make a big deal about it, but I don't hide it either. That's because I don't want to be faced with an uncomforable situation where someone pops a champagne cork on my behalf and then I have to politely decline the flute of bubbly in front of everyone. I'd rather people just know, "Oh Kalisa doesn't drink." Kinda like "Bonnie doesn't eat meat" and "Mom can't have sugar."

The fact that I used to drink too much isn't really all that shocking. A lot of people drink too much. You probably even know someone who drinks too much or, at the very least, have been around someone who drinks too much. The fact that I decided to quit drinking merely signifies that I had a problem in my life that I took (am taking) care of. Like an out-of-shape person who took up exercise. A workaholic that took a vacation. An OCD person who stopped washing his hands. It's not exactly medal-worthy. It just is.