"indentifying information"

adoption has been on my mind and heart a lot lately. it's evidently something i think about more often than i actually realize. i suppose it's partly due to the fact that i've experienced this miracle myself and partly because i know so many others who have also adopted and/or are currently in the adoption process. reading blogs by other adoptive parents is always such a blessing to me. and yes, more often than not, the tears flow freely when i learn of the joys and trials that other adoptive parents experience.

today's pondering:
it's interesting how the adoption experience has affected me in so many different ways i would not have guessed. take for example, how i blog. as a mom, i like to write about my kids and share the fun we have as a family, but i find that how i write my posts is directly affected by my adoptive experience. you see, even early in our adoption process, we were told to be careful not to share any "identifying information" {like in our picture profile} until the time came when an agreement would be made to make the adoption fully open. for us, that day never came. our baby's birthparents chose to keep our adoption closed--no identifying information would be shared and no contact would be made between us and them. when he turns 18, cj may choose to seek a meeting with his birthparents and our adoption agency will hopefully be able to facilitate that meeting if he desires it. in the meantime, i send scheduled updates to the agency per the agency's suggestion...just in case someday his birthparents want to see how he's doing. because of the adoption process and these updates, i have learned to be extra-careful with our names, location, and other information that might be clues as to who we are or where we live.

so when i started blogging, it was natural for me to not use my full name. i have chosen not to use my hubby's or kids' real names either. instead, i refer to them by their nicknames or initials. i know who i'm writing about and for me that's what really matters. early on, i had a comment about this--that the nicknames were just a tad confusing {written by an individual who knows and loves us}. i think perhaps that's why i'm writing about this today. i would like to feel comfortable using all our real names too, but i'm not, so i don't.

i have read many different blogs. and i see a whole realm of variety when it comes to the use of indentifying information. some people have no problem sharing everything--their full names, location, birthdates, or whatever! others prefer complete anonymity and work to write without any indentifiers. i think ultimately, it just depends on the blogger {their personality, circumstances, etc.} and their purpose in blogging {to share tidbits with family & friends, as an online journal, or a place to vent or speak out}.

for me, this blog is my online "journal" of sorts and my other blog is where i share with family and friends fun stuff that's happening or just whatever's on my mind at the time.