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There are a lot of things I am not.
I’m not super skinny.
I’m not an amazing cook (I’m just decent).
I’m not a world famous photographer (not sure I could even deal with the attention).
I’m not a Pinterest-worthy mom.
And I really do hate glitter.
I struggle with this. In a world where there are amazing mommy bloggers that come up with cute crafts seemingly out of nowhere, take amazingly good photos of them, write a blog post and get a million pins on Pinterest, I feel a little out of place. They have so much ENERGY. How do they do that?
I hate it when my kids mix the Play-Doh colors, or when their water coloring activity ends up as puke brown smears across the paper. I just want to get in there and do it for them! It has to be PERFECT. I get stressed, kind of cranky and mostly just have to leave the room. And then I remind myself that they are just kids. They are little and still learning. Maybe eventually they’ll draw something I can recognize, but right now when my 3 year old looks at me with those shining hopefully eyes and hold up a paper of random circles declaring it to be her “best work” how can I not praise her efforts?
I loved when I posted on Facebook back in December about hating glitter and how it was everywhere in the Airstream after we put our names on our .99 Christmas stockings, and so many of my friends jumped in with “me too!” and “I hate doing crafts with my kids, I get so stressed out!” It made me feel a little bit less alone in this world where everything seems to be measured on the Pinterest Scale.
HOWEVER. I do have my moments. As time passes (and honestly, as my kids get older), there are certain crafts I can do with my kids that DON’T stress me out. Well, at least not to the level that I banish all the paint from the premises. We pulled off some of the crafts over Thanksgiving – and my kids looked absolutely adorable in their Native American headbands and vests. And the other is actually playing with modeling clay. Probably because I actually enjoy it, there’s an instruction manual, and my kids love it when I help them and their animals end up looking exactly like they do in the book.
Maybe there is hope for me yet. Until then, however, we’ll keep the crafts to a minimum and the adventuring to the max.
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I love this. You KNOW I love this. Thus TRUTH TUESDAY! But something interesting … I’ve been thinking about YOU lately and how AMAZING YOU are at just jetting off into the unknown! I romanticized your life …. thinking “WOW – she, like, WANTS to be with her kids ALL day long! And LOOK – she does CRAFTS with them! (seriously … these are my thoughts). And LOOK – she gets out to the temple EVEN ON THE ROAD (and isn’t STILL nursing a baby every 3 hours). And LOOK ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE FOLLOWING HER and she’s like this WOW AIRSTREAM FAMILY that EVERYONE wants to be like. And she’s SO GOOD! Like .. YOU know … a GOOD PERSON that I AGREE WITH! (hahaha! You know what I mean!) So – even people who DO like glitter (not that I do in my house – but I DO like spraying it on things on my front porch) and even people who do like to be a little crafty – are envying you. Your simpleness to live in an airstream. I romanticized your small closet – and how great it would be to NOT have that much space so you’d be forced to have less. How great it would be to HAVE to be with your kids ALL day long (it’s not that I DON’T want to be with them … but I WANT to WANT to be with them more!) So many things that I am not ……… and even I judged myself off of what you have simplified. I love you.
Oh! How I love your comment! I think most of us just do “normal” and what’s “normal” and “easy” for one person is incredible difficult and unimaginable for others. I think I’m to the point where my life is “no big deal” and totally “normal” and I don’t think twice about it. I just do it. But, I think we all get that way, yes? Life is life. We do the best with the circumstances we are given and its amazing how easy we can adapt.
Okay, I am usually such a lurker and not a commenter, but I just have to comment here. I think it’s so interesting the perceptions that we all have of ourselves versus how others see us. I remember you in high school being this tall, athletic, creative, intelligent, incredibly talented person (not to mention super nice!) and thinking how amazing it was that you just had it all together all the time. And then we’ve reconnected through Facebook and this fun blog of yours, and I marvel all the time at your beautiful photos and the love that shines through them. I look at how flexible and adaptable your family is, and how many amazing and fun things you do together. If I had a Pinterest board of “coolest moms” you would definitely be on it. You are certainly Pinterest-worthy in my book! 🙂
P.S. I’ve heard it said that glitter is the herpes of the craft world, and I agree 900%. Not in my house. 🙂
Thanks for commenting! I totally know all about lurking. 🙂 It is interesting to hear other’s perceptions. My memories of high school include a lot of heartache, pain, and misery (and I’d never, ever go back) so I’m glad I at least looked like I had it together! lol. And thank you for the compliment. It has been fun to reconnect and I LOVE all your recipes. See what I mean about yummy food and awesome photography? There’s no way my food photography is THAT good. I think I’ll just stick to people. 🙂