Tuesday, October 23, 2007

I'm a Mom in RL but not in Second Life


Yes, in real life, I have a very active (translation: exhausting) 16-month old baby girl. But in SL, I'm child-free and actually want to keep it that way!

The other day I won an entire nursery in SL thanks to a Lucky Chair that didn't realize my "No kids in SL" rule. The lovely low prim furniture was designed by my designer friend AnnMarie McCellan and included a...gasp, horrors...crib. Now what in the world will I do with a crib in-world if I don't have - and don't want to have - SL children?

I thought about putting my SL Chihuahua in it but that seemed cruel. Finally, I learned that I'll be helping with a promotion for a chick-lit book that has "baby" in the title so we'll offer it up as a prize in that contest. Can't wait to get rid of it and give it to someone who can truly appreciate the craftsmanship.

So bottom line: I do not want a baby in SL. I don't even want my avatar to ever appear pregnant. Been there and done that in RL and not about to do it again - at least not yet.

What motivates women to make their avis pregnant anyway? They must not have kids in RL. Or they are those supermommies who love being mommies all the time and were basically put on this earth to be mothers. That, I hate to admit, is not me.

Do I go to SL to escape my RL? Not really. The things I do in SL are extensions of what I do in RL, at least in terms of work. And the friendships I'm making in-world are as good, if not better, than the ones I make on Twitter and other online venues. So I'm not really looking for a life in SL that is wildly different from my own.

But I draw the line at kids. I have a hard enough time keeping up with RL mommyhood so I'll just focus my energy on my flesh and blood baby, thank you very much.

Anyway - I've started a group for other women who are Moms in real life and using Second Life. Join: Moms in Second Life to find out more!

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