I have about eight blog post just sitting in my “back office” waiting for me to come and edit. One of them being my famous Thanksgiving Day post. The cliff note version, I undercooked both the ham and turkey. Are we really surprised by this?

So, in an effort to take some non-existent pressure off of myself, I am switching things up a bit. Specifically for the next 30 days.  The thing is, I have about ten blog posts in my head at any given time. Trying to decide on which one to write about is always a challenge. Lately, it is too much work to decide if I should talk about work, kids, cats, or vodka. So, as I try to enjoy this holiday season without putting too much pressure (as non-existent as it may be) on myself, I am going to do this 30-Day Writing Challenge, and as always, I hope you come along for the ride.

(Dad and/or Uncle Robert, if you guys are reading this, it may be something fun to do for The Long and Short of it while we wait to post the story)

Day 1: Five problems with social media.

Oh, this could take a while, right?!?!

1. In my humble opinion, I feel there is so much fakeness on social media. Let’s take a look at Facebook for this one. How many times do we see pictures of an impeccable house, children dressed in their Sunday best as mom puts a Pinterest dinner on the table? Please. Show me your frozen Totino’s Pizza pics while your “Little Darling’s” are picking off the toppings with a load of laundry sitting in the corner that has been waiting to be folded for four days. Keep it real.

2. Embarrassment. In the days before social media, if I happen to trip over my own two feet at my local Target, I would be embarrassed for a hot second then go on with spending way too much money. These days, everyone wants that “one viral post.” So, when I trip over my own two feet at Target, I have about five bystanders whipping out their phones recording me and my mishaps, then quickly publishing it to their page with a caption that goes something like this “Crazy drunk mom cannot walk in Target.” Now, in my little scenario, let’s just say that it was not me at Target, but a middle school kid who tripped in the lunchroom. You can see where this would go, and it’s just not a good place.

3. People seem to be keyboard warriors. Oh, you know the kind. They will say whatever the hell they want to say and throw a little “umph” into it because they are safely behind their phone/computer. Face to face, would they be that brave? I highly doubt it.

4. Politics. I may be in the minority here, but I am sick and tired of reading the political post. You are not going to change my mind, I am not going to change yours. So, can we just agree to disagree and talk about cats?

5. My biggest complaint. The one thing that has brought me thisclose to leaving social media. Stop posting pictures of animal abuse. I just can’t. It is rude, it is insensitive. If there is a horrible story out there that you want to bring awareness too, use your words without pictures. Stop trying to be THAT person who is trying to go for the “wow” factor. I am now at the point where I will block anyone who will post pictures of animal abuse.

So, there you have it. Now, tell me your top 5 problems with social media, and come back tomorrow to read about my earliest memory.