I have a love/hate relationship with social media, particularly Pinterest. I do owe that magical place many thanks for favorite recipes, cleaning tips, crafty ideas, "life hacks", and workout ideas. I'd probably be safe in guessing that most moms have spent many hours lost in Pinterest land. It's a wonderful place where we can design our dream home, put together our dream closet, and even make plans for our dream body. If only all of those pins came with time and money...don't we wish?? ;)
I didn't allow myself on Pinterest until I became an official full-time homemaker just before having my first baby. I was hooked immediately! It taught me how to cook, and more importantly how to enjoy cooking. It helped me work on staying in shape before, during, and after babies. It helped me learn how to fix up and decorate a home. It's the first place I look for party ideas, new desserts, Halloween costumes, and makeup tips. It's a great resource but I think it's a double edged sword. This is a place where "do-it-all" moms shine and those of us who still feel like they're getting the hang of this mom thing often feel inadequate.
I feel like sometimes we set the bar so unbelievably high to be the perfect chef, decorator,
do it yourself-er, seamstress, photographer, fitness guru. Oh and on top of all that, try and look beautiful and stylish at all times. It's enough to make any woman lock herself in the closet away from all the pressure.
And who is it that's expecting us to be all of these things??
It's not our husbands...Morgan tells me I look beautiful even when I'm still rocking my pjs, bare face and topknot at the end of the day. He loves me even when the house is messy and dinner means leftovers...again.
It's not our kids...they're happy as long as we feed them, play with them, and love them.
It's us.
I feel like as women we are always trying to outdo each other. Where is the balance between being a good mom and wearing yourself ragged? I've spent many naptimes browsing Pinterest thinking, "How in the world can I do all of this??" But I will say, while there are cons to this social media craze, I do love the "cyber support" I feel as a mother. I am loving the blog posts by moms confessing that they're not the perfect "Pinterest" mom and that it's ok. It's nice to know that other moms have those days where they're lucky everyone got fed that day. I love that I can get advice and opinions of other moms who are dealing with thumb-suckers and tantrums and trying to lose baby weight. Instead of social media being the place where we compare our efforts to the efforts of others, let's make it a place where struggling moms can lean on each other and build each other up. {instert RAH RAH RAH! here} Let's remind each other that even on those days where all you have doesn't feel like enough, it is. So go hug your kiddos, kiss your husband and tell yourself, "I am enough". Because you are!
