I used to blog consistently; it was mostly about being a mom. Not just being a mom, but being a mom to three guys with lots of different diagnoses (autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, rare disease).

I ended up disillusioned because so many other parents in the same circles were sharing extremely personal things. We ended up, as a family, coming up with rules about what and how I would write about family in the future. Not because I had written anything that broke confidences, but because I could have.

As a result, my guys, now young adults and (god help me!) a 16-year-old, know that they have final veto on anything I publish, even if it's already 'out there.'

I can be vulnerable, but not at the expense of telling my kids' vulnerabilities to the whole world.

Around the same time, writing became much harder for other reasons. But my writing still passes through those same rules - even social media posts.

My kids have a right to their own privacy, as do the other people I love in my life. And while their stories are part of my own, they deserve the chance to tell them someday if they want. (I reserve the right to use the embarrassing ones)

This is not to say I haven't written about them, but I did so with their approval and, when their approval wasn't possible, with further discussions (our youngest is mostly nonverbal).