Well, I left my Mommy Board.

I have belonged to some sort of message board for years. I belonged to the Knot for ages before my wedding, then moved to the Nest. Once we found out we were expecting Lucy, I moved to the Nest Baby. It became a pretty unfriendly place, so I joined a great group of girls on a private board. It's been a wonderful experience, but I'm just spending too much time there.
Now that the board is spending a good amount of time discussing whether or not we can all get along like civilized adults, I've realized that not only am I concerned about my relationships with a large group of women, which almost always ends badly, but I'm concerned about a group of people I've never met.
It's become the norm for me to give Lucy her breakfast and to hop on the laptop to "catch up." What I should be catching up on is Lucy's manners. When Lucy naps, I usually sit down with my lunch at the computer. I should be sitting down with a book, or sending a letter to a friend. Instead of playing Scrabble or watching a movie with Andrew at night, we're spending time on separate computers. That's just not right.
The board has been a wonderful resource, but the internet isn't a community. It's a place you go to escape the community you're already in. What if I spent Lucy's nap time recruiting for a charity? What if I spent Lucy's breakfast teaching her to pray, or reading her a book she wouldn't usually sit through? What if I spent the hours after her bedtime cleaning up and really getting organized for the next day?
I made the right decision. I need to be present now, in my real life. I feel more connected already.

I plan on devoting more time to my blog, too. Lucy is growing too fast and is too funny not to be sharing more of these moments. Lately when she cries out for something I say, "You mean 'Please Mom!'" and she just laughs at me. Today she said "Peese!" and I almost fell over. My little girl won't be a heathen cave-creature forever!