Lonley Planet Travel Blog: Marrakesh

You've probably heard the phrase "seagull manager." A boss who comes in, craps all over the place, makes a big mess and then leaves. A recent blog post of mine seems to have brought in a seagull commenter. And, frankly, I'm quite angry about it.

The commenter accused me of being "selfish and neglectful and not a very good mother." That his/her "...biggest problem is that you complain about what an inconvenience it is for YOU." That I am "uninterested in Olivia's health." And finally, that I "didn't feel like being a mother."

I will freely admit that I composed several very nasty responses to this comment. They were born out of anger and hurt and I have learned the hard way that that is not the way to handle things.

So here is what I will say. I am a good mother. I take care of all of my children. If the commenter had read any of my other posts, he/she would get a glimpse into my life and would see the concern I have for my kids. I'm guessing, however, that this commenter hasn't ever read anything I've written, either here or on my personal blog.

No where in any of the posts I've made about the logging issues I have have I said it was an inconvenience. I have said that I forget, I have said that I feel guilty, I have said that I would love advice and 99% of the time, that advice is given. It's given pleasantly, even when people are chiding me. I do not mind being chided. I don't even mind having my butt kicked once in a while.

What I DO mind, however, are baseless accusations. Accusations of neglect and, basically, abuse. Accusations that I don't want to be a mother. I don't know where this commenter gets off saying things like that, but I hope that he/she has led a perfect, blemish-free life, if that's the kind of accusations that are routinely hurled.

dLife is a place for support. It's a place where I go to post about my child's life, and our life, with diabetes. I post to seek advice, I post to discuss treatment options, to talk about other issues that may affect Olivia's blood sugars. There have been many times that people have made suggestions to me and I have always taken them on board. Some haven't worked, some have. I'm always appreciative of them, no matter what.

But to have someone basically walk into my house and scream at me and then walk out, well, I liken that to a seagull. Don't come in here and crap all over me from the anonymous safety of the internet, especially when you don't know a thing about me except for one blog post. Even if there had been some good suggestions, I wouldn't have listened because of the screaming.

I've had 28 comments on this post - it's the most I've ever had here at dLife. And most of those comments were lovely and I really appreciate all of them. So, thank you.

The seagulls can take their squawking somewhere else. I never liked those birds all that much anyway.