When I started blogging, I was immediately hooked because the idea of having a way to document pictures and memories was very appealing to me. The thought of forgetting a cute comment from Gwen or not being able to recall the details of Fiona's birth in 5 more years is makes me so sad. I was never good at traditional journaling and scrap booking proved itself to be too time consuming. Blogging seemed to be the perfect solution, and I have really enjoyed it.
The funny thing about blogging, (at least in my case) is that it is not always very realistic about what day to day life is really like in the Bean home. Of course everything I blog about is true, but I leave out all of the unpleasant stuff that happens in between the good "blogable" moments. Mostly this is because I want my blog to be positive and I don't want to dwell on the unhappy moments of our lives. Also, I'm always two months behind on my blog. Fortunately for me, I'm pretty good at forgetting about the bad days. It wouldn't occur to me to blog about my neighbor that keeps letting his dog poop in my yard two months after the fact. OK, that was pretty annoying.
Anyway, my point is that I don't want to give the others the impression that my life is perfect or that I am perfect.
It seems like many of the blogs I read (and there's lots of them- check out my blog roll) are similar to mine....happy stories about seemingly-perfect lives. Reading blogs is 95% enjoyable, but sometimes when I read them, I feel a little inadequate as a mother and a wife. It is hard no to measure myself against the other amazing moms. Sometimes I wonder if these people are really living these near-perfect lives, or if they are just creating an illusion the same way I often do without realizing it?
To balance out all of my happy posts, here is a just a few reasons why I'm not perfect all all. (Sorry I don't have time to type out the other 9,000 reasons)..
*I really don't care if Gwen knows how to read by Kindergarten. We read books and we sometimes do workbooks, but whatever the end result is works for me.
*All too often dinner consists of just breakfast cereal or sandwiches
*I don't floss. Ever. OK, I do the day before a dentist appointment
*Sometimes I go all day before I realize I haven't changed Fiona's diaper even once.
*I only clean my house if somebody is coming over. Unexpected guests are my worse nightmare
*I don't grow fresh produce in a garden, serve it to my family, and then compost the scraps back into my garden.
*I spend too much time on the computer
*When Gwen asks me to do something with her, my most common response is, "Sure, just a minute, let me do (fill in the blank) first."
*I always return library books late. Very late.
*Gwen watches too much TV
*Sometimes I will have a 20 minute conversation with Gwen and realize that I haven't really heard a word she said.
*I often go three days without brushing or combing Gwen's hair.
*I don't make my bed unless I think somebody will see it.
*Sometimes I sneak candy for breakfast when Gwen isn't looking.
*I haven't balanced a checkbook in years.
*Sometimes I take a shower, fix my hair, put on makeup, and then put pajamas back on.
*I break the speed limit on a regular basis.
*Rick does more of the house cleaning than I do.
*Sometimes I don't let Gwen paint or play with play-dough simply because I don't want to clean up the mess.
*I often go several days without any attempts to persuade Gwen to eat vegetables.
I see a few opportunities here for some New Year's resolutions. Oh, another confession...I've never kept up with a resolution for more than a week.
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Sister Lockard 2.0!
2 months ago
14 comments:
Haha!!! That's great. I think I've done the majority of those. I like blogging about the imperfect or even really crappy days because I can look back later and see that I survived it and that I will survive again. Even be happy again after something particularly awful.
Funny you mention flossing. I've set a goal to floss more because I read about how not doing so can lead to tooth loss or even affect whether you have a stroke or heart attack. : O I like my teeth right where they are, but I HATE flossing. My teeth are so tight together, the floss always rams into my gums.
You should make this a confessions tag!
My husband actually doesn't allow me to post the bad and ugly portion of our lives. I see his point though, which is much like yours, that you shouldn't dwell on that part of your life. Or, use the internet to constantly vent. I love your list though, and I don't think there's a single mom who wouldn't agree that when we start comparing ourselves to others, we start to feel really horrible about ourselves. I like your list and can pretty much say I do nearly all of them and then some -- especially playdough and paint. They are so much work that I have to really be in the mood to want to take it on.
I never knew how much we are alike!
I still love you, even though you sneak candy and don't floss. Will you forget to change my diaper when you are my caretaker?
Anna Marie, your list is funny. And I can relate to a lot of them. I feel the same way about a blogging. For the most part I just post the highlights of my life. I hope I don't come across as perfect either, because I'm far from it. I try not to blog about the hard days or even the discouragements we go through because I don't want to come across as negative or complaining either. I think we all know someone on facebook or blogging that is constantly sharing frustrations and is venting about how hard life can be. I think it's good to be honest with others that we aren't perfect, but some of my bad days and discouragements I go through I don't want everyone to know about. I usually write about our difficult times in my private journal, because I do want my kids to know about the hard times we go through as well as the good. But I love your list, because I'm sure a lot of us can relate to those type of things. I should take a picture of my kitchen sink, or my laundry pile! You would laugh.
Can I just say that I LOVE this? I think we far too often focus on looking pefrect, instead of just being real. I can't tell you how many things on your list I identify with. Just know that even if no one else says it, we're all pretty much the same. :)
Hmmm...I still think you're perfect!
Your Mom's comment is so funny. I think you are an awesome Mom. We all have rough days and great days. If we don't write the bad stuff down we can say to our children when they are parents..."you never did that," when their kids are crazy. It is nice to know that you aren't always so clean. It makes me feel better about my clutter :)
Crap! I forgot that I needed to change Ben's diaper!
You hit the nail right on the head! I feel imperfect looking at other people's blogs, too. I am glad to hear that you are not perfect!
We are all imperfect and I must confess I do nearly all of those things too! We all do we just don't admit it!
LOL! Love it!!
this is hilarious.. my very favorite one was the one about Gwen reading before Kindergarten.. Why are moms so crazy? I loved the entire list.. I can totally relate.
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