I've been blogging since 2008 and one of the first blogs I frequented was MckMama's. She was so inviting and interesting. Her photography was dazzling and her kids, beautiful. I loved clicking over and reading her cute posts about her Many Small Children and her handsome MckDaddy. She seemed to have similar values as me and her willingness to talk about her faith just made me feel even more comfortable reading her blog. She also spoke openly about what she struggled with (her marriage) and I thought by doing that she was being a genuine person who faced issues….you know, just like everybody else.
Then, her baby Stellan became the focus. He was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect SVT during pregnancy. So, I followed along her journey (which was very emotional and scary) and prayed for her and baby Stellan. It was a frightening experience and as a reader, I could only imagine what she and her family were going through. It was all over the blogosphere and this lady had the followers/readers tuning in to share in their fight for a healthy baby. I continued reading throughout the birth and touch-n-go health issues he battled.
Everything seemed legit.
Little by little, I noticed as I read her blog…..tragic things were always happening to them. Not just the sick baby (and please know, I'm a compassionate person), there were financial problems, foreclosure of a home, job issues (MckDaddy's), vehicle problems, marital fusses, counseling & reconciling, illness (her & Stellan), another baby (surprise), strange homeschooling posts, Compassion trips, Focus on The Family interview, political posts, an entire summer of traveling the USA in a camper/motorhome, trips for photoshoots, more money problems, moving to a new house (and honestly, the moves didn't look shabby), purchasing of farm animals for their HEALTHY eating habits, bakoodles of pets & births of more, furniture shopping, parties at fancy antique furniture places, car wrecks, more hospitalizations…
The list goes on and on…
I totally lost interest and I'll tell you why….it sounded bonkers! Every bit of her life sounded crazy! Her posts were filled with beautiful pictures of her kids, always impeccably dressed in the cutest style of clothes. As a mom, I've raised 3 babies and money was T I G H T in order for me to stay home. I found myself jealous of her ability to "be broke" and yet live such a lavish (the pictures certainly made it look as if, anyway) lifestyle. She was in the upper crust of blogger celebs, yet she had piles of problems. I couldn't keep up.
So, I bailed. Call me unfaithful. It's ok. I just couldn't keep up with all the issues and the blessings too. It just didn't seem to match up.
[Let me insert here: I DO NOT KNOW Jennifer personally. So my opinion is strictly based on what I've read over the years on her blog]
Every once in a while I'd hop over to see the latest happenings. It still appeared that havoc and chaos were the name of the game and blessings & curses continued to rain down on the MckFamily. Currently, the issues are serious marriage problems. The posts are vague and often misleading (because, who knows THE TRUTH about what's going on?) and filled with arguing commenters posting on every little word she writes. I can't even begin to describe how confusing and embarrassing all of it is. It's terrible! For her, her husband & her many small children.
I don't know what is really happening and I'm not sure if it's any of our business. I know she makes money with her blog and she's been the target of nay-sayyers on the internet. I just can't understand her thinking on tantilizing her readers with just enough information to make them feel awful for her and her many small children (that is how she likes to refer to them). Why is she sharing such sad & personal stuff? Why is she not protecting her relationship with her husband or possible ex-husband? WHAT IS HER MOTIVE? If it's for encouragement and support, then be honest with your readers. Stop playing games and posting little inuendo's of your problems!
And for goodness sake, BE COMPLETELY HONEST with yourself.
I'm moving on. I can't read the MckMama drama anymore. I feel dupped because something just isn't right. If I were experiencing the issues that she keeps posting…..I would not be airing it out for throngs of people to fuss, argue & criticize on Facebook and my blog.
So, I'll end with this…. Am I misunderstanding all of it? Or is she strategically doing every bit of this for MONEY? Either way, MckMama….you need to come clean!
