Update 14th May 2009: Yay! My cousin has come around to my point of view and is happy with the compromise. She also conceded that the day was a happy one, even if the eventuality wasn’t.

Tonight I got a message from a cousin, asking me to remove her wedding photos from my blog. As you might guess, the marriage had broken down and I assume that looking at the photos of happier days is difficult for her. At the same time, she probably also don’t want them available on the general Internet.

My first reaction was of annoyance. This is my blog, it is a record of my life and thoughts. I was there at the wedding and I had a blast with my family and relatives. She may not think of it positively now, but we were all truly happy for her. As such, asking me to remove the photos and the post was like asking me to forget that the day had existed. I’m not going to do that because I can’t.

The other thing that got me perplexed was that it’s not as if no one in our immediate family and social circles don’t know about her current situation, and about her having married once. Seeing her in a wedding dress in a photo from a few years back isn’t going to shock anyone. This is true even if she thinks that divorce is a bigger social stigma than it really is these days. No one is judging her and I don’t think anyone in our family is too. Disappointed and a little bit sad we maybe, but no one is judging because we haven’t walked in her shoes and not many of us know the full story.

Though in the end, after having a long thought about it I decided to compromise. I will still be seeing her and it’s best to keep things cordial and civil at least. I emailed her to let her know that I will remove any photos with her ex-husband in it but the ones with her and her family, and us the relatives I’m keeping up. And I’m not deleting the post because reading through what I wrote, I didn’t find anything that deserves to be deleted.

I blog, it's what I do

This post also serves as notice to everyone that I know. I blog. It’s what I do. It’s a big part of me. If you come into contact with me in any way, shape or form you might end up as words here.

I’ve already promise you that I won’t write or post anything compromising about you. In fact I believe I’ve toned down a lot – I’ve learnt my lesson. In my opinion, it’s made my blog a little less exciting and I have to think more about what people may think these days. It takes a lot of willpower to keep my fingers from the keyboard sometimes.

So in return, I hope you understand that it’s difficult and sometimes frustrating for me when you request that I remove something which I have already carefully thought out about. I will compromise a little, like I have done for my cousin but it doesn’t mean it’s something that I like to do.

I don’t expect you to have a thick skin like I do, but I hope that you respect me enough to understand my position.

p.s. to those of you who remain friends with me, knowing that I blog, I love youse all! :mrgreen: