Blogging v. Facebook v. Real life

So this past weekend Nacho set off for an early morning bike ride on Saturday. Now I don't begrudge him his rides through the city, but I do sometimes wish he would put as much effort as he puts in planning his routes into planning an outing for our family. The impetus for getting us ready and choosing where to go usually falls on my shoulders which can get old.  So when he returned a couple of hours later, I threw him a challenge: while he was getting cleaned up, pick a destination for our day.  And in no time, he had decided to take us back along his earlier route to Williamsburg, Brooklyn to check out the food mecca that is Smorgasburg.  Good choice.  I'd heard about this for a while and when our friends Jill and Dave brought their little boy Miles to town in May, it was one of their first stops.  They even spotted Mario Batali (and yes, his famous orange Crocs) on the ferry nearby.

As we parked and walked towards the large area of food vendors, the small park with geese aplenty beckoned so we took a detour down to the waterfront. It was a nice walk until we realized that every other step was dangerously close to the geese poop littering the grass. Elisa was thoroughly disgusted and didn't want to walk any more. "Carry me!" she demanded and froze up like only a 3 year old who isn't going to budge can. Uh no. Sorry.  But I did let her hold my hand while Nacho took Carolina in the stroller up and around the grassy wasteland. We were just nearing the open lot with all the food stalls when Elisa announced she did not want to go in. "NO! I want the park! I don't want to go there!"  What park? What was she freaking out about? I think she thought when we headed in through the "park" that there would be a playground. But no. It was just a "tree park" as we have taken to calling them, and she wasn't happy about it. So I explained where we were going to which she replied, "I don't want to eat!  No, I don't want to go there."  Yes, yes, I get it. Playgrounds are more fun.  Trees and food just can't lure the kids in.  But somehow Elisa missed the memo that this wasn't all about her.  

And this is where I stop to debate how this little outing looks to the casual observer.  I know I post a ton of photos on my Facebook page and usually follow that up with a blog entry when I have time to write it all out.  But I'm the first to admit that sometimes the photos I post on FB and the posts I write aren't always the whole story. Shocking, I know. Normally you don't see Elisa's meltdown or hear about the constant cajoling that had to happen to coax her into the venue. You don't see how Nacho and I had to divide and conquer to get the food and drinks we could barely enjoy because Elisa was dancing all over the place bumping into people and wandering away from our park bench.  Or how patiently Carolina sat and sat and then sat some more until finally I could free myself up enough to take her for a little stroll. Oh and it rained on us twice.  In fact, I was about to abandon ship just as we got our Korean bbq dishes because the raindrops were really picking up and all I could think was "Well, this is shitty.  Should we leave and eat in the car?"  But you wouldn't necessarily know that from these pics. Because who wants to read that blog?

In the end, we stayed and ate with views of the city and the bridge, and then I went back for doughnuts (which you don't see because we inhaled them).  And Elisa tried to walk off again only to have Nacho join her for a short walk in the rain.  So yeah, it was a lot of effort for very little payoff (but damn, the bbq was tasty).  There were only a few moments of resting and enjoying it in real time.  To be honest, sometimes I wonder why do we even bother?  Is it worth all the effort?  Taking two kids anywhere in this city can be such a pain sometimes with two strollers crowding up the trains and buses.  Even when we drive there is still the hassle of parking and unloading all our gear.  It's like we are the little family that pokes its nose in where the single/childless city folk tend to dwell.  "But hey, we used to be just like YOU!" I want to shout.  Don't I still get to do fun things?  And the answer is yes.  It just takes more out of me.  By the time we get home, even I'm ready to nap. And lots of times, I do. We are not full of boundless energy around here, but we pick and choose where to spend it. And my apartment is a mess, but don't tell my mother. 

So there you have it.  Blogging and Facebooking are part of the fabric of my life.  But they are not my life.  The photos may often appear to show a happy-go-lucky family scene straight out of a parenting magazine, but that's not always how it feels.  I try to balance things out on the blog with a more accurate account of how the day went, but again sometimes there are things I gloss over.  Do you really need to hear about Elisa's fifth freak out of the day?  Is it fair to leave that out?  Is it real?  I don't know how to answer those questions.  I record these things for my own enjoyment most of the time, and to remember that yes, it was all worth it.  Things may not always be rosy, but in my head I usually end up thinking "Well, at least we tried something new."  That's what really drives me to go out on these little adventures. It's not the Facebook bragging rights or wondering how artsy I can make the photos on the blog. I just really like this city, and I like that we can do different things just about every day of the year if we wanted.  And by the time we go back to repeat things, the city has changed again ever so slightly and it's still a new experience. It's just that rich.  I think it's part of how and where I live that I can bring these experiences to my friends and family through social media for them to be a part of our life. And I truly expect the same. What I love about Facebook is really the exchange it allows and that I find such inspiration from the photos and things my friends are doing. Maybe I'm the anomaly, but that's what I enjoy about it. I rarely find it depressing in a why-can't-I-be-doing-that-too kind of way. I get that. But I think if you enjoy the life you have, then why not post what you like?  Besides, if you don't want to see 100 photos of my kids a day, hide me. It's that easy. I'll just keep blogging anyway.