I came across an article on Relevant today (Stop Instramming Your Perfect Life), and while I agree with its premise, it made me pause and think about my own online life.
For many of us, walking away from the Internet isn’t an option. But using it to connect instead of compare is an option, and a life-changing one. Using technology to build community instead of building carefully-curated images of ourselves is an option, and a worthwhile one.
Am I one of those moms who’s putting up a fake front of perfect-looking Instagram shots and Miss Sunny Sunshine status updates? Sometimes, I am. But it’s not because I’m afraid to show my real life. It’s not because I want others to think I’m perfect, or that just-real-enough perfection that is Jennifer Lawrence’s Oscar interview. I take …
A grainy cell phone picture captured a piece of this memory.
My ears throb. My throat aches. My head swims. A sinus and ear infection has rendered momma weak. I flop onto the couch. Dressed in a t-shirt, my husband’s mesh shorts, and an oversize lavender fleece robe, I am a picture of motherly frump. I feel tired. And while my sweet husband cooks a hearty breakfast and brings me a hot cup of coffee (fixed just how I like it), I can’t help but pout a little. I have so much to get done this weekend. Laundry, oh, the laundry. And mopping and scrubbing and well, more laundry. And there are fun things, too, like a friend’s bachelorette party.
But right now, I just sit. Head leaned back into our soft, paisley-pattern couch, legs relaxed, arms …
Seeing the ends of her golden hair gathered into a lavender ponytail holder, I had to choke back emotion. “It’s just hair, honey,” I assured her. “It will grow back.” My preschooler has been begging me to let her get her hair cut “just like mommy’s,” but I’ve been dragging my feet. Why? Well, I was worried she might change her mind. Or, more likely, that I would regret snipping off those sweet tendrils that used to brush up against my cheek when I was rocking her to sleep as a baby. These were her first curls, which had now grown into an unmanageable mane. Her hair had grown down to her shoulder blades, and she didn’t have the patience or desire to keep it maintained. Every morning was a struggle.
“Don’t brush my hair! No! It HURTS! Leave …
They say this year was one for the record books. Our neck of the woods got 12+ inches of snow in two days, the second highest amount in recent record keeping. I can remember one other time, from deep in my childhood, when we got a comparable amount.
Now that I have my own children, my own home, I finally understand how it is that adults used to rattle off the years that certain weather events happened. Like the old men sitting around at the gas station, talking about the frog choker back in ought-six, or something like that. I will always remember 2013 as the year of the blizzard. The real deal. But the snow isn’t the only thing that left an impression. It was the food, glorious food! Thanks …
(Image from momlogic.com)
Lord, I am tired. Head down at 11 p.m. Head up at 5 a.m. With three interruptions in between. I’m not sure how much longer I can last. Years of inadequate sleep have taken their toll on my body. My mind. I am tired. So tired.
And when I feel this way, it’s so hard to let your light shine. It’s not that I want to hide it under a bushel, I just want to crawl under that bushel and go to sleep. Sweet…sleep.
Lord, you’ve known great fatigue, even worse than this. And yet, you kept your eyes focused on your Father. One foot in front of the other, you trudged up that hill, to that place where your life would end. And yet now, I realize, even you fell. Even you struggled under the …
Bears and toddlers may exhibit a “grimace” before attacking. Proceed with caution.
They can look cute and cuddly from a distance. Bumbling around, frolicking in the wilderness, foraging for a tasty snack of juicy berries. But then, something sets them off. They feel threatened and are unable to communicate like an adult human. Suddenly, often without warning, they attack. Growling, snarling, sometimes biting. You’ve been warned.
Bear or toddler? Take your pick.
Once my “perfect” baby, my toddler’s behavior lately could be described “like a bear.” And today, she proved that analogy true. Determined to get a snack out of the “baby proofed” cabinet, she gripped the plastic sliding lock with her mighty toddler claw, and broke it. Just snapped it in two. And before my husband could stop her, she started ripping into a box of cereal. …