As many of you have probably noticed, Yow Yow! has taken a back seat in the last couple of weeks. My first and one true love – my job has consumed much of my time lately, but this isn’t the first time we’ve been here. Over brunch, I started to share with Kevin about how little time I’ve spent writing. If it were up to me, I’d make time every night for it. However, after a long nine-hour day, every day, my brain doesn’t have the energy to even string words together in a sentence. “Is the blog done?” Kevin asked. It’s not, but it prompted me to consider how much further I could take this.

There’s a few more chapters that I haven’t covered in my life that I hope to hit someday, but does it need to be shared? One of those chapters that I’ve pondered is kids. Will I have them or opt out? Does Yow Yow! then become a blog for moms and parents? This trickled down to another topic. I promise I’m getting to the point here. As blog owners, we have ultimate control of what we post and when we post. Those in our lives – family, friends, etc. don’t always get a say about whether or not they can be excluded. So who steps in for the kids?

I read a funny article the other day about a teenage daughter who asked her mom to stop posting about her on her blog and Instagram account. The daughter had a point here! She wasn’t wrong at all and the mother refusing just came off as a little immature to me. There is this boundary that I think about for when kids are in that cute phase vs. when kids figure out what’s going on and want out. It’s not fair to them that they have to have their life documented every step of the way even if their parents choose that path for themselves.

I recently started following an SF mom blogger this year who has an adorable young daughter named Marni. They have the cutest adventures going shopping and eating at restaurants I want to eat at. Her parents began making stickers of her facial expressions and selling them. I’m an owner of her classic “side eye” sticker which I proudly display on the back of my phone case. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t wonder what Marni will think about when she looks back on this in her life. I recently adopted a practice. In the last couple of years, my friends have started having kids of their own. If I’m ever around their kids and they’re being cute, it’s a habit to film a quick video or snap a photo for Instagram Stories. It happens so fast, I don’t even think about it! These days, I ask permission. It’s as simple as saying, “I took this photo/video, are you okay with me posting it?”

I get responses on both sides. Ultimately though, I need to respect that parents are doing what is best for their kids and while I’m okay with my life out in the world, many people don’t wish the same.