It's official, I have a "hater!"

I've been blogging for one and a half years.

It's about time that someone leaves me a nasty comment. In my observation, popular bloggers that claim loyal followings, will also attest to having a "hater" or two in their midst of readers.

WELL! Ladies and gentlemen,

I'm excited to report that I have my first one!!!

I'm sure they're not the first (or last) 'hater' to look at what I write with a critical eye; but I can say with absolute certainty that they're the first person that has offended me with their comment. And with that introduction, I'd like to share this hater's comment with the rest of the class.

Again, this was written in response to my announcement of Andrew's recent purchase of a 55 gallon fish aquarium. A certifiable (meaning, it wasn't Andrew) "anonymous" reader kindly wrote:

Would you like some cheese w/that whine? He's the one doing all the work for it. Stop your complaining.

Wow! How do you respond to that?

"Cheese? Absolutely; of the pepper jack variety, please."

I could cut the "cute" and fire back,

"Tell me, dear reader. How is that you know that he's doing all the work in maintaining it?"

*psssst... Absolutely, he's the one that cares for it!

Or I could return with the diva smack-down and say:

Last time I checked, this blog had my name on it; which, forgive me if I'm mistaken, gives me the right to:

• vent
• complain
• celebrate
• gush about my kids
• share
• record our history

etc.
etc.
etc.

If you don't appreciate my complaining, don't read my blog.

I hate feeling like I need to defend what I write, especially to a person who doesn't have the nerve to add their name when posting a comment of this nature (*cough, cough, COWARD, cough, cough). I don't consider my blog to be controversial. I try to keep the peace and remain low key when hot issues are being debated publicly. If anything, I need to find the courage to be more pro-active in sharing my views. Now who is the coward? Me, so I guess it looks like the meanie-faced hater and I share a commonality with the exception that I make an effort to uplift, compliment and thank those that I leave comments for. Go Ali, go.

But, here's the deal...

When I make the decision to post or share a marital dispute, please understand that Andrew is in on it. He's laughing along as I type. As a person who has a tendency to "over-share" - I know where that line is in keeping things private within our family. If I question it, I ask Andrew his thoughts, keep in mind what he's comfortable with me sharing, etc. He gives the green light.

"Should I blog about this? Should I not." - that type of thing.

But yes, it's true. I was upset that he purchased the aquarium when he knew that the size of it bothered me. As a human, things bother us. Call me a complainer... but that size of tank, bothered me! I was hoping for a compromise in the form of a smaller sized tank because I know how much Andrew loves staring at fish (or just the water and rocks).

Obviously, that compromise didn't come to pass. I let go of my frustration, decided it was better to laugh (and blog) about it and together, I chose artwork for our kitchen (spending personal Christmas money) as a trade. And being the good wifey-poo that I am, the artwork I chose is artwork that I happen to know he loves.

You don't need to tell me that I'm over reacting to the rude comment I received today, because I know that I am. It would have been better to delete the mean spirited remark and not waste my time dwelling on it again, but like I said, as a blogger... that first piece of "hate" mail or however you want to label it... is a right of passage.

Anyone else out there dealt with a hater before? If so, how did you react that first time your tender heart was hurt?