We live in a world where it’s easy to share everything about our lives: Instagram stories, Facebook stories, Snapchat and many more. Don’t get me wrong, I love sharing on Insta. But.. am I really sharing my real, everyday life? The good AND the bad… the messes, the dishes, piles of laundry, toys covering every inch of my house and that box of pizza we had for dinner (because I had no energy to cook)?? Honestly, no I don’t! I want to share the “edited”, the “cropped”, the “filtered” version of my life. WHY IS THAT??!! We all wear clothes, and create laundry. We all eat food, and create dirty dishes. Our houses are lived in, so they aren’t perfect. I guess I’m afraid of being judged…. #momfail #wifefail There I said it!
As I scroll through social media, it seems everyone else as it all together: that clean house, super organized and beautifully decorated; just finished an AWESOME workout and is still looking AMAZING; the meals that are always gourmet and healthy… and let’s not forget the kids…always adorably dressed, and well behaved. I find myself falling into that comparison trap…if only i could do better, be better, workout harder. At times I’m so frustrated with these ‘other moms’ I want to stomp on my phone until it’s in a million pieces! That’s when I remind myself, “This is the edited version of their life”. Then I wonder, “Am I making others feel that way?” We are all on this motherhood journey together and some days are HARD! Sometimes I make them so much harder on myself. I want to have that perfect house, cook those wonderful meals, get the great workout in AND take care of my son. For ME that is not all possible with this stage of life. I’m learning to give myself GRACE, cut myself some slack, take a step back. These moments with my son won’t keep, the other things can wait. 
I am a type “A” personality. I work best with lists, schedules & plans. Even if it nearly kills me (hello, I just completed an ultra marathon). I can get things done! When I first went back to work (10 weeks) after having Liam, I worked 2 days per week (day shift). I quickly whipped up a schedule for laundry, cleaning & cooking.
- Monday- Big laundry day, deep clean house, meal prep for week
- Tuesday- work
- Wednesday-recover & crockpot dinner
- Thursday- work
- Friday- small laundry day, lite house cleaning, nice dinner
This worked great! I was like, “I’m totally killing this working mom thing and..my house is clean and…laundry is done and….we have home cooked meals.” Yep, I was super proud of my multi tasking skills (pride confession here). It all went as planned for about 6 months. Then suddenly we had to figure out a different plan for childcare. I went to swing shifts so we’d only need a babysitter from noon until my husband got off work. This was a huge adjustment for us and much less sleep for me but the best decision for Liam. Oh, and that nice schedule went right out the window! BOOM! Just like that! My work days weren’t set and I was working more like 3 nights a week. I was SO exhausted I felt sick. Something had to GO… That was the weekly deep cleaning of my house. The laundry was done hit or miss, sometimes folded, sometimes not. I felt like a terrible wife! When the baby was sleeping; I was catching up on sleep (not doing my housewife duties). I ran almost daily just to keep some sanity in my life. I cried and prayed a lot on those runs. I think that’s where I found grace for my life. It’s OKAY not to be perfect. It’s OKAY to have piles of laundry needing to be washed or folded. It’s OKAY to bring home pizza on your busy shopping days.
I live a real life and some days are just really hard & long.
I was recently invited to a Mom’s Group. We are reading the book BECOMING MOM STRONG by Heidi St. John. I laughed through some of her stories of ‘mom moments’ but by the end of chapter 4 I was crying. Her words pierced right through me. This whole chapter is what has been weighing heavy on my heart. Being understanding, compassionate, giving Grace to other moms. We are ALL ON THE SAME JOURNEY through motherhood. The sooner we realize this, the better moms, wives and women we can be (speaking to myself). We should stand by one another, hand-in-hand, supporting and encouraging each other, ready to lift a fellow mom up if she gets weighed down by life. We all have different talents, likes, interests, hobbies or skills but this does not make one of us better then the other. We’re all on the same team dealing with life in just a little different way. So, next time you (or me) gets to comparing or feeling down….remember God made the person you are. And we are all perfect in His eyes!
