{#RealLife | A New Blog Series}
Confession: I love social media. All of it. I do. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. And, oh the joy that is Pinterest. Social media can be good. It makes me smile, it makes me laugh, it reconnects me with people I'd otherwise be lost to. But sometimes, it's not so good. Some days if I see another picture of a perfectly baked dessert, a perfectly place Elf on the Shelf, a perfectly executed DIY project, or a mountain of beautifully wrapped presents, I want to retreat into the farthest corner of my closet, underneath all the dresses I never wear but refuse to get rid of (mostly because they don't fit, but maybe they will someday) and HIDE. It's too much. So it goes when you play the game. {Disclaimer: I post those kinds of things, enjoy seeing them most days, and will continue to do so. This isn't about that.}
See there's something in me that drives me to compare + compete -- some days it's far worse than others. It's not that I want to make a wreath as expertly as the girl who lives half way across the country, it's just that I want to know that I'm doing okay. You know? I want to know that if I want to make a burlap wreath with monogram, I can. The truth is some days I can barely get dinner on the table and you can forget about laundry. And where in the world is my vacuum? Oh yeah, plugged in upstairs where I left it three days ago when I meant to vacuum the hallway. On those days I find myself wondering how I ended up such a slacker. But the truth is I'm not a slacker. Actually, most days I'm on it. Really. And when I compare my highlight reel (that's what social media has kind of become) to my #RealLife, it's quite nice actually. I have plenty of picture-perfect moments to share. But I also have LOTS of the other kind of moments. You know, the unedited, unposed, unfiltered messy moments, moments I wouldn't typically snap a picture of and post to my social media accounts. Because, who cares about laundry that's piled to the sky or dishes that are piled across the entire countertop? Who cares that sometimes my socks don't match or I forget to change out of my slippers before I leave the house? Who cares that I didn't have the will to argue with the three year old about her mismatched clothes? Maybe no one. But, maybe there is one who needs to know it's ok. You're doing ok.
So, I'm taking to social media every Monday for the next several weeks with a #RealLife post. A new friend of mine was doing something similar earlier this month and it was SO refreshing. Here's the thing: I don't want to be the girl that everyone assumes has it all together because I don't. That's not real for anyone. See, I've figured something out. Even when I'm a mess and everything in the house is a mess or the car is a mess, or money is running low, my life is still quite good. Yes, it's good. I am not necessarily proud of the messes but I've figured out how to appreciate them because of what they've come to represent -- my life is FULL of people and things that I have been given to love and enjoy.
Would you like to join me? Let's take to Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook with the hashtag #RealLife and encourage each other with proof that we aren't alone in our mess. Make sure you tag me. ( Valerie Gibson Jones on Facebook | @vdjones on Twitter | @valeriejones on Instagram)
So, here we go. #RealLife No. 1
#RealLife No. 1 {Mount Laundry} valerie-jones.com
I think these clothes are clean, but I can't be sure. Oh, and when it was time for sleep these piles moved to the floor. Three days. That's how many days we shuffled these piles around the bedroom until it finally got cleaned up. Instead of putting away the laundry, we made fun desserts as an advent activity. I have pictures of that, too. But this, this is what it looked like in the room right above us. And can I tell you something? It didn't matter to any of us one tiny bit. We laughed and giggled and ate ridiculous amounts of candy sprinkles for Advent Day #14 choosing to ignore the mess for a little while and enjoy each other.
See. It's ok. Your turn.