#Instaperfect

We’re all guilty of it. We see a mom or family on Instagram or Facebook and think how perfect their lives must be, because they are only showing us their perfect moments. They aren’t showing us the tears, the screaming like a lunatic every morning at 6 a.m. because children don’t want to get up or worse, they ARE up and screaming like banshees and its the weekend. We don’t get to see the pile of laundry that’s been sitting in “the chair” clean and unfolded for 2 weeks or more. We only see what they let us see.

So many people feel inadequate due to looking at their high school friend’s social media posts. Oh, they have the perfect life. They have the perfect husband. They make meals like Ree Drummond herself. The truth is, you can’t tell what their lives are like from what is posted. We see a moment in time. Just a moment. Nothing more and nothing less. If we take the time to look at our lives without the judgement glasses firmly in place, we would also see that our lives are filled with perfect moments.

I admit that there are times when associates message me on these platforms and tell me how they wish their lives were like mine, or they wish their relationship were more like mine, but the truth of the matter is, nothing about my life is perfect. I do have perfect moments on a daily basis, but in between those moments are chaos, tears, yelling, self doubt, and a whole lot of forgiveness. This morning my 12 year old threw himself on the floor in a full on fit because he didn’t want to go to school since it was raining. 30 min later my daughter let her friend in the house when it was chaotic and atrocious. An hour after that, my youngest son sobbed uncontrollably because he wanted today to be his field trip day since school is stupid. To top off the morning shenanigans, I did not feel well, but I still had to adult today.

So, while I was seriously contemplating running away while the kids were at school, I won’t. My grumpy middle child will come home and hug me before telling me how much he loves me. My youngest will meet me grinning ear to ear and ask me what the baby did today (he’s still in my belly). And my daughter whom for  years did not know how to have a back and forth conversation will tell me all about her day while laughing about her friends. These are my perfect moments. These are the things I post about on social media, not the organized chaos. If you ever feel the need to compare your life to what you see on social media, stop. We’ve all got our crazy, some of us just hide it better.