Okay, I just received my first really negative comment and guess who it was from? Son. He was furious about the ‘love/hate’ post (see comments) because he didn’t think it was exactly accurate and he didn’t like being portrayed that way. I pointed out to him that I had to disguise some of the people in the incident described in order to protect their anonymity.
“But what about my anonymity?” he yelled, “and what if your readers now think all your stories are made up?” Then, stomping off, “I’m not the wimp in that story!”
“Look, this is the first story I’ve slightly altered, okay? I won’t do it again without admitting to the readers.”
“And leave me out of the blog from now on, Mum,” he said more gently.
“Okay,” I said as one of the cocks crowed.
Note: As mentioned before, I taught English and Creative Writing for years and that whole truth/fiction conundrum used to spark a lot of debate. One thing I’ve decided is that if you are going to fabricate a story a little, it is much more honest and sincere to admit that, than simply to pretend it’s 100% accurate.
Well, what do you think?
jmgoyder 
Oh my goodness, I have had that talk too with Daughter. She has no idea I have this blog. She still checks the old one looking for reasons to yell at me. 😉
Ohoh!
It’s a delicate balance. I tend to exaggerate the amusing stuff and rigorously edit serious stuff. I love blogging, I love writing, but I love my family more.
I read the post and I thought your son came across as a nice, kind boy. Not a wimp, because it must have taken courage to do that in front of the girl’s friends.
Yes, it’s a fine line in so many ways. I’m a bit of an Erma Bombeck fan and I remember reading somewhere that she experienced this same kind of dilemma when writing about her kids. Thanks for your comment!
My children have long come to the understanding that one shouldn’t let the truth get in the way of a good story, and that indeed embellishment is both expected and embraced. In fact, they have got to be as good at creative exaggeration as I have. As for including the kids in the stories, well I’d like to say they’ve got used to that and in some respects they have as I have been at it for years and they’ve had plenty of time to get used to it (mostly because they are such good fodder to include in a yarn) – but also because the stories I tell are oral ones and with our friend bases veering off at different angles now they are actually much more unlikely to hear them back. In the end though, it’s all fair, as they tell some ripper tales themselves, often with a different version of me in them that I find hard to recognize! 🙂
You are so wise AND hilarious!
Aw, I see Son has relaxed a bit… 🙂