I have asked Ali to let me use her blog for a moment. I know that we share many "internet friends" and most people that followed my blog also follow her blog. I have closed down my blog and I figure this is the best way to let people know the reason!
Closing my blog was a very difficult decision because I feel like Samuel "lives" through his story and taking it down feels like I am taking away one of the few ways he actually "lives". But, Samuel's identity was stolen recently. We tried to file our income tax, but someone had "claimed" him as their dependent and received the $1,000 tax credit that was attached to him as a minor. It's a common scheme apparently, because a person that is deceased has no confidentiality rights and his birth and death certificates are both public domain. We learned that, along with the disclosure of his vital records, our information also became public, as Samuel's parents, our names, dates of birth, address, and more are now for anyone to access... along with Samuel's social security number.
I did a quick Google search of Samuel and, of course, found my blog, which also posts pictures of my beautiful little girl and very intimate details of our life. I know that I have been the one to make these details public, but I did my best to always keep our location private. But, with a public death record, our location is no longer mine to protect.
So I have made my blog private to protect my daughter (and the rest of our family) from the criminals that hold our son's identity.
I doubt that I ever go back to the blogging world. It was so therapeutic to me over the last 4 years, but at this point, I am trying to redirect the time I spent on the internet to time spent with my family... maybe clean the house better or cook dinner more often! My plan is to publish a personal copy of the blog or find a way to save it for my own records and then delete the entire thing from the internet.
The wellbeing of my little girl is more important than anything else, and the blog could possibly bring on more heartache to our family at this point.
I am so thankful to the blogging world. I have made friends with people that I have never met! There have been people all over the world that have prayed for the healing of our son and strength for our family as we grieve his death. Thank you for standing beside our family, for the prayers, the thoughts, and the support. I will miss my blog, for sure!
Missy,
ReplyDeletePrayers and blessings to you and your family.
Clara-Leigh
Missy- I will miss your blog; I feel that I have come to know your family well over the last few years. But I certainly understand your reasons for closing it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I commented at the time, but my mother died two days after Samuel. And Samuel helped keep it in perspective. She was 89 and tired, and had lived a long full life, she was not a small child. So while I mourned her, knowing about Samuel helped it be easier.
My prayers will go with you. God bless you and yours.
Jane
Missy I can't believe this. As I read this I called Sean and he is working on getting identity protection for our entire family. People are disgusting and I can't believe there are such currupt people living all around us. It makes me sick.
ReplyDeletePlease know that we think of you often and hope you will be able to get things resolved with this itdentity theft. Thank you for letting us know why your blog is not open.
We will miss hearing from you, Missy. But you are doing the right thing. It is comforting to blog. I do it the most when Quinn is going through a rough spot.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that you're having to protect your identity in such a way, but understand completely! I'm so disgusted that there are such people in this world that would steal a child's identity in this way...so sad. I think of Samuel and your family often and will miss reading updates. (((hugs)))
ReplyDeleteDisgusting. I can't believe that someone would do something so horrible. I hope you are doing well otherwise. I'm sure that's the last thing you need to deal with!
ReplyDeleteThat is heartbreaking. :( I struggle with blogging for the whole privacy side of things. This really has me thinking things through again. I try not to post photos where you can recognize the kids, or last name, etc. But this makes me realize how vulnerable we all are anyway, especially when our children die. :( It's so horrible there are people out there doing stuff like that! I wonder if they can trace the people who did this through the fraudulent tax forms? I hope they can sort it out. So sorry. I appreciated your insights on mito, and also getting to know your family. I hope you feel Samuel still lives, even without the public access to the blog. I believe our little ones are just in another sphere, and you did a good job of also making Samuel's memory a part of so many lives here on this Earth.
ReplyDeleteLove you girl! Miss you guys so much. I'm glad you were able to say goodbyes and explanations on Ali's blog.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you all just move to my state...that would make things so much better!! :-P