The Princess And The Poo

It started to come to me while I was dumping a bag of coffee grounds into the mulcher alongside my Mom's greenhouse. It arrived in full bloom as I was adding shovelfuls of dried chicken droppings on top of the grounds.

I may not fit any one exact image that someone would have of me.

Then again, I don't think most people have only one side to themselves. This may be why I'm not a huge fan of the idea of the whole "online" thing. I mean, even here - I only show what I want to have seen. I realize that. I have no problems with sharing stories that make me appear klutzy or occasionally slow, but even those are still edited down to what I decide to show. Sometimes I'm on target and other times ... well, even I miss now and again.

Growing up, my favorite past-times involved playing with our goats in the empty lot next-door, climbing trees, and checking out the creek for frogs and cool rocks. In spending more time at my childhood stomping grounds lately, I see young children playing in a "virtual" swimming pool (while the very real one in their backyard goes ignored), climbing rock walls at their gym sessions (in-between their music and self-defense classes) , and checking out their friends latest online updates. The field at my elementary school that nearly killed our tiny little legs to run across has been paved over to add a drive-around so that one doesn't have to get out of their vehicle to pick up their child.

Do I think children today are more harmed than helped by available technology? Depends on what day you ask me. I think that the systems and databases available to children today can be a HUGE benefit to them. They can seek answers to their own questions. They can explore other cities, states, countries in their own living rooms. They can also be exposed to things that they're perhaps not yet prepared to experience ... things that their parents are not yet prepared to explain. I think that children today are both harmed AND helped what what's "out there".

And it's that "out there" part that got me reflecting back on who my "online me" is. Sometimes I think I'm pretty close to an accurate representation. Other times, I'll look back and think "hmmm ... I dunno. I'm coming across as a real princess here". (I realize that I may have been in "princess mode" at the time I wrote that, too.) Either way, I'd be willing to be that most folks wouldn't imagine that the princess would ever spend an hour shoveling chicken shit into a bucket.
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(Credit where it is due: Today's title was suggested to me by the Awesome Boyfriend, who also reminded me that I'm a princess who DOES wash windows.)