DBlog 2015, Keep it to Yourself

What to reveal and what to conceal on TuDiabetes is a balancing act for sure. I’m aware that my Facebook Page requires the same attention to personal privacy, especially since it is under my actual name. Between the two sites, the internet knows a great deal about me–for instance, that I am married, write poetry and blogs, have had dogs for decades, and that I have Type 1 Diabetes and four other autoimmune conditions.

My husband and I have a son and daughter, five grandchilden, three great-grandchildren, and many other relatives. I rarely write about any of my relatives, however, because I really don’t want to invade their privacy. I am so fortunate that I have their support; it would certainly be more difficult for me to keep putting one foot in front of the other without their support. In case any of them read this: Thank You!

I think that participating in discussions, etc. on TuDiabetes requires that one discuss health issues to some extent–that’s the reason we are here. I try, I really do try, not to overdo the “pain and suffering” aspect to my diseases. I think we all make daily decisions about what to reveal and what to conceal writing on websites and communicating with others about our heath issues. Of course my husband hears it all!

Since I’m thanking folks, Thank You to the DOC, TuDiabetes in particular, and Thanks to Bitter-Sweet for this annual fun week of DBlogs. One suggestion: let’s have another Poetry Day on the next DBlog Week!

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It’s an interesting process, isn’t it Trudy? I am more open about more things on TuD. On FB, I mostly don’t call my husband by name because he is not on FB—for years as an emergency manager, he wasn’t allowed to be, though it is common now. My kids and friends who are on FB give me some guidance by their posts as to how open to be. I post very little there about diabetes unless I am posting for friends I know have it, too.

I am most open about the D here, where I won’t shock or worry family members—at least not until I have arranged my thoughts by chatting with my TuD friends.

In general, I prefer to just own my life, for better or worse, with friends and with tourists. One kind of gets used to it as a performer/teacher/choreographer for 40 years, and now as a writer for theater and of poetry. All that is You is in your art, after all, so you might as well own it. But it is an ongoing process…

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Hi Judith, thanks for your thoughtful reply. The thing about making the daily decisions I mentioned is that they’re not always consistent, at least in my case. I’ll own any and all poetry I write, anytime and anywhere. Sometimes I put my TuD blogs on Facebook, sometimes not–I don’t often talk about my personal health stuff on Facebook. My husband has a FB page, so of course I use his name there. Here, not as often. Nice to have both sites, though, to suit one’s mood. I do have a strict policy to maintain the privacy of my other relatives. Oh yes, “an ongoing process”, as you noted!

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