Internet Displays Of Affection

As some of you may know, I am not a huge fan of IDAs - Internet Displays of Affection. For the most part, I like to keep my private life ... well, private. And yes, I do understand the irony of that since I am posting this on my blog, which anyone can read and will probably be floating around forever. Regardless, I believe in respecting personal boundaries and not strewing names and pictures and proclamations of love all over cyberspace. Don't take this the wrong way, either. I mean, what doesn't work for me might be fine for you. If that's the case, so be it. But there are three reasons why I don't write a bunch of gooey crap about my Sidekick on my Facebook or blog or twitter. 

1. It doesn't make my love truer. I don't need to write how much I love my Sidekick on the Intersnacks, plaster it all over our Facebook walls, or post a hundred selfies of us to prove how much I love him. He isn't a secret, by any means, but he also isn't a trophy for me to brandish. Sometimes it gets to the point where other people talk SO MUCH about their partner that you have to wonder if they have their own identity. Mushy back and forth posts ad nauseam often tend to look like overcompensation to my cynical mind. Don't get me wrong, a well timed birthday post is more than acceptable, but daily accounts of your undying love is a bit much. 

2. He's a fairly private person. Sure, his Instagram isn't private, but the guy isn't a 'look-at-me' kind of fellow. While I tend to put a fair bit about myself out into public domain, I understand other people don't relish in these sorts of inter-webby reindeer games. That being said, whatever I do click 'publish' on is usually a slightly distorted version of true life accounts and often do not include names and/or pictures. I have been known to lie from time-to-time for the sake of someone else's privacy. 

3. Things end. No, no, no, I'm not dooming my relationship with the Sidekick. Not at all. If anything, not blabbering on about it and posting ridiculous 3 month anniversary photos is protecting it. Keeping it safe. From personal experience, I've found, dragging more people into your relationship only strains it more. Once other opinions are involved, you are less likely to know what you feel yourself. All it takes is one flippant comment like 'why doesn't he care?' on your Twitter account and you will have half the world, or at least your four hundred closest friends and family members telling you how HE doesn't deserve YOU. I say 'no thank you' to the peanut gallery. 

Now, that I have said this, what I am grateful for is the utter cuteness I get to wake up to every day. Every morning the boys all gather in the bed for pets and snuggles. Dixon, Oliver, Bruce and the Sidekick are all there, vying for attention, being lazy, and it is basically the highlight of life. The other morning, I actually took a picture of some of what I get to be a part of. My Sidekick is in the picture, and my little man. It makes me smile. So I am sharing it. This one time. Because I do love the Sidekick. And you all know how I feel about Oliver. 

It's hard to handle this sort of adorableness.