I think a lot about how I present myself on this blog, on my facebook page, and in real life. I want people to see and know the real me. It’s honestly too much work to try to keep up the illusion that I have it all together. It’s just impossible. If anyone tells you they have it together, they are lying. Plain and simple. Real life is messy, sometimes unpredictable, and we just do what we can when we can.
If you call my house, you’ll hear kids screaming and yelling in the background.
If you stop by unexpectedly, I assure you there will be toys everywhere and my kitchen will look like a war zone.
If you show up at any given time, I probably will not look put together and most likely my hair will be in a pony tail, I will have no makeup on, and I will be dressed in a t-shirt. My daughter will have messy hair and in her 15th crazy outfit for the day. If you’re lucky my son will be clothed. More than likely though, he’ll be sporting his favorite look…THE BUFF!
If you look in my laundry room, you might find clothes stacked in huge piles and clothes in the washer that have been washed three times because I keep forgetting they’re in there.
If you see me out, you will probably see me chasing my two year old. You may even see me lose my temper and yell.
If you see me at the park with my kids, yeah I’ll be playing with them, but I also might just plop my happy rear end on the park bench and check my email for a bit so I can have five seconds to myself.
I make meal plans every week, but you also might see me at church with McDonalds in my hand. **GASP** Yeah sometimes life happens, and dinner got ruined or something else came up.
I’m telling you right now, if any of this bothers you, I’m very sorry to disappoint you, but this is the real me. I’m not perfect and I don’t claim to be. I’m a real mom, a real wife, and a real woman full of imperfections. I can’t do everything and be everything 100% of the time.
I’ve got news for you. You can’t either. I challenge you to quit trying to live up to the Facebook/Pinterest illusions of what real life looks like. What you and I see on the screens, is rarely what is really happening on the other side of the screen.
Case in point. My family and I had pictures taken last week. My daughter is almost five and my son is two, and these were the first outdoor pictures we had ever taken as a family. The only other family pictures we have gotten made were at the hospital when my son was born and church directory pictures.
While we were taking them, my son was buck wild, running around chasing bunnies, not sitting still, wiggling out of our arms, etc. He would climb when we wanted him to sit and he would run when we wanted him to climb.
My daughter, while she loved the camera, kept sporting her famous Ms. Fake Smile routine. Are you kidding me? Look at that face! HA!
I was beginning to feel sorry for our photographers. They definitely had their work cut out for them with this sorry crowd. After my kids tackled me in the grass for the fifth time, my hair was disheveled and I was thinking this session was certainly a bust.
We looked like an out of control ridiculous family doing a comedy bit while dressed in color coordinated clothing. At one point, Eli was throwing the biggest fit while we were sitting on a park bench together. He was crying and bucking his head back to wiggle out of Ken’s arms. We had just about given up, when Bailey started singing her questionable song she learned at school. ”One, two, three, four. Get your booty on the floor!” Finally Eli stopped his tantrum just long enough to giggle. We encouraged Bailey to keep singing while the beast was tamed with her silly lyrics. It was a sight for sure.
I wish you could have seen my face the next day when Brittany sent me some sneak peaks. We looked happy. We looked relaxed. My children looked sweet and calm. We looked down right jolly. We looked like the “perfect family”. As I kept receiving more and more sneak peeks, I kept thinking, “Who is that family? Ummmm…I don’t know them!” My next thought was, “Wow! Brittany and Smitty are GOOD! :D
My point is, what my Facebook friends saw was not reality. They saw just a piece of the whole puzzle. The highlight reel. They didn’t see the “crazy” behind the scenes. They didn’t see me sweating, chasing Eli, and encouraging natural smiles. They didn’t hear the screaming or silly song lyrics. They didn’t see our out takes, which by the way, the above pictures are the bad “good” ones. There were several we didn’t even receive.
The same is true for our every day lives. Maybe you’re dealing with depression. Maybe you have chronic illness or pain. Maybe you are stressed to the max at your job. Maybe your marriage is falling apart. Maybe your kids have behavior problems. Maybe your children are sick. Maybe you are struggling to make ends meet financially. Maybe you just feel like no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get this life together. It can be easy to scroll through your Facebook feed and think that you are alone, and no one else lives a life crazy like you. It can be easy for resentment, jealousy, and discontentment to sink in.
Be encouraged, dear friends. You are not alone in your chaos. I can pretty much guarantee that most of us live the crazy life. Everyone’s crazy will look a little different, but what I want to leave you with is this. Things are not always as they seem. What we see on the outside and on Facebook or Pinterest is not real life.
P.S. That last quote is not mine. I’m not that creative. I got it from an e-card.
Alright dear friends, PLEASE get real with us in the comments and share some of your crazy. It can be serious or funny. Please don’t be afraid to post something. Laughter (especially at ourselves) is good medicine, and if you want to cry a bit, that’s ok too! I love you, dear friends! Thanks for being a part of my life.
This post was shared at:
Tending the Home Tuesday
Heavenly Homemakers Gratituesday
Display Your Heart’s Real Life Wednesday
