Pretend Perfect

Let’s just talk about pretend perfect for a minute, friends. I am a self proclaimed lover of all things social media. As a stay at home mama in the middle of no where, it has served me well over the years. Need a quick recipe for that Instant Pot you just bought? A quick idea for the 100th day of school? Inspiration for that gallery wall you’ve been dying for? A way to keep up with family? An inspirational quote, story, or picture? A solution to your child’s eczema? There’s an app for that, friends. And these apps can legit serve you. They can provide knowledge, inspiration, and entertainment all with the swipe of your finger.

But, friends, and there is a but, my sweet friends. Social media has also cultivated a culture of pretend perfect. You see we see just a snippet of someone’s whole, and then we compare that one gorgeous instagram image or perfect Pinterest party with our whole self. Our whole life. We take that amazingly instagram-able image of a mama at the pumpkin patch with her adorable babies in tow with the light just right and the filter on point. All smiles, all happy, all laughing. And then, friends, we apply that to our WHOLE pumpkin patch experience. We remember how no one could find their rubber boots when it was time to go; how your two year old tripped over a vine and fell right smack dab into a giant rotten pumpkin the very second his little feet hit the patch (true story); how there were tears over the spilt bag of $10 kettle corn; or how your child threw a fit when it finally was time to go home.

You see your WHOLE life. Your WHOLE self. But you compare that to one mama’s snapshot. You see the beauty in her day and then highlight the mess in yours. The thing is though, her day was messy, too. We are all a beautiful mess, friends. We all have those amazing snapshots in life. We all have our areas at which we excel. We also all have the rest of it: the Pinterest fails, the mom fails, the bad days, the life struggles. We are all whole.

Let us just take a moment to let that sink in. You are whole, friend. So am I. So the next time you start to feel you are less than a pretty little picture on social media, remind yourself that you are seeing that mama’s beautiful right there in that moment. You are seeing her skills shine. You are getting a glimpse into a bright spot in her day. Celebrate it with her. Smile to yourself and then celebrate your beautiful, too. But don’t for a second think that you’re any less. There is a real person behind that image. Flaws and all. Perfect is a lie, friends. Messy is real. But I promise you that there is beauty in all of it.

Looking for more encouragement?  Check out Perspective Without The Weight Of Perfection In Motherhood and Tie Your Shoe, Mama.

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