Pinning Doesn’t Fall Far from the Family Tree

Hubby has remarked about it in the past, and so have my siblings, so I guess it’s true. I am my mother’s daughter in ways I thought I would be different. You think: “I’m never gonna do such-and-such with my life because of the negativity that impacted my own life.” Yeah, right.

Stacks of ideas to share – Mom’s way.

Mom would spend countless hours absorbed in reading, clipping and organizing newspaper and magazine articles as her way of passing valuable ideas and information onto us for the future. It was an age where the printed page reigned supreme in her mind. She barely acknowledged the concept of electronic capturing of information let alone social media or on-line sharing. Consequently, she left reams and reams of binders of clippings for us kids to sift through after she died, and although it was an arduous, monumental task, it did shine a unique light on the woman herself – beyond just her general interests. My mom, unfortunately, never saw the dawn of Pinterest, something right down her alley. I, however, have been sucked down that rabbit hole too many times.

I hesitated at first to get involved with Pinterest, really I did. It was at my sister’s urging (see, that confirms there’s some genetic predisposition!) to sign up and begin poking around. Her invitation should have come with a warning. It was like trying to eat just one potato chip; a quick 15-minute snoop stretched into a half hour every few days which turned into getting notifications of “boards of interest” and late-night sojourns before bedtime. Like so many people I know who are tethered to their smart phones, I felt like I was missing something “out there” if I actually tried to catch up with the regular house chores and gardening. Thankfully, that voice inside my head (the one that also regularly brings up the nutritional value of chocolate and red wine) told me to reign in this activity before someone labels it an obsession. Judging from the enormous number of pins on certain boards I’ve seen so far, yes, some Pinterest fans are obsessed.

Colourful push pins look pretty, but Pinterest is more fun!

The folks at Pinterest would like you to believe that all this sharing is an energy that binds us together like “the Force”. While it’s interesting and a bit comforting to find like-minded individuals globally (and that’s one reason for this blog), I can’t help but ponder what will happen upon my demise. Will someone in my family take the time to check out my boards (think of Mom’s binders) and discover I’m more than a few listed areas of interest, what was important to me, and (more importantly) what was not? Thanks, Mom, for being a trendsetter before your time.