Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Reality Check

I like to think that my blog is a fair representation of my life. I'm pretty much an open book- on my blog & in real life. But the other day someone said something about how "prefect" my life was- a friend who knows me in real life & reads my blog. I laughed out loud.

Don't get me wrong, I have an awesome life. A life I wouldn't switch with anyone else. But let's all be honest with each other, no life is perfect. Perfect for me, but not "prefect".

So, in the spirit of my lovely cousin Katie's "Keepin' it Real Wednesday", behold REALITY:

Exhibit A:

See that lawn? That's my lawn. The ghettoest (that SO a word) on the block. Our roses hopefully distract from the brown weedy patches but, yeah, it's my lawn. In our defense, we're putting in a sprinkler system this summer so we have to dig up the lawn anyway & it was terrible to begin with, so we've kind of let it do what it wanted. Apparently what it wanted was to die.

Exhibit B:
My baby is REALLY cute (evidence here, here, & here) but you know what? There's a good chunk of the time he looks like this.

Exhibit C:
Our dining room table in its current condition. That folded laundry at one end (hey, at least it's folded), a discarded game of Monopoly Deal, & the remains of the dinner I fed my family- Taco Bell (a sick mama does what she has to do, including Taco Bell).

EXHIBIT D:
This is what Rob's room typically looks like. Not exactly a disaster, I like to think of it as creative expression- just look at those complicated "towers" (he calls them) & lined up "guys" (also a Bearto-ism). I usually don't have the heart to tell him to tear them down right away so they stay like this a lot of the time.

EXHIBIT E:
Me, no makeup (which isn't far off normal for me- I don't wear much). Which really didn't turn out as dark circle-y as I look in real life- but check out that pulled back mom hair, Scott t-shirt, & broken blind in the background. And what is with that mirror? Didn't I JUST stinking "Spring Clean"?

EXHIBIT F:
My sink as it currently resides. No words need be used. That is all.

And there it is, my friends. I'm not even embarrassed. You know why? Because it's real life. And I think we honestly do each other a disservice if we pretend that our lives are prefect, manicured, & put together at all times. Heaven knows, that if you know me in real life I am one of the least put together people you've ever met.

Creative? Occasionally.
Fun? Possibly.
Entertaining? I like to think so.
Put together? Not in a million years.

12 comments:

Erin said...

This post made me really, really happy. I feel like I am REALLY good at my job and we entertain A LOT, which I love, but our house is pretty much never beautifully clean (which is a travesty as my mother's daughter). Thanks for acknowledging normalcy :)

Christie said...

What would Nana think?! ;) Thanks for sharing!

Kerrigan Byrne said...

Love this! I'm glad we struggle with the same problems...

Unknown said...

I think your life IS perfect! You're doing what you love (being a mom), and hanging out with super fun people all day. Who cares about those other details - they're so minor in the bigger scope of things.
I know I never comment, but just thought I should mention that I love reading your blog!

TLF said...

You're awesome, I swear.. Love this post! xoxo!!

Anonymous said...

You are awesome Liv. I am amazed you do everything you do. You definitely have your priorities straight. Rob's room is great! Perfect for a creative little guy.

I laughed about your lawn. We have not watered our lawn in years.... Although in the Pacific NW no one does.

Aunt Susie

Rebekah said...

Thank you for doing this blog post! I needed it! I am such a perfectionist. It is so important for us to understand. My Grandma used to say ”My house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy. :)

Monica @ All Things Lovely said...

Your life is HORRIBLE! jk. :)

life is great. messes are great. those pink glasses from ikea that i have too are great. rinsing the dishes off before leaving them in the sink so the food doesnt dry to the dishes is great. a dishwasher is great, too bad we don't have one currently.

i want to hold a baby sooooooo bad.

keepin it real is a fun blog posting idea.

Katie said...

You know I appreciate posts like this! I am so with you - you put it perfectly by saying that we do each other a disservice when we pretend like our lives are perfect. I am like you, I am an open book. I hope that I don't ever make people feel like they aren't stacking up against me. It sometimes sucks to let it all hang out when not everyone is doing the same (some people want people to really think they are perfect), but every time I give a peek at my imperfections, I hope that I am giving some woman out there a chance to cut herself some slack.

Also, I love the creative mess in Rob's room.

Oh, and I should mention that even though I do try to "keep it real", I think blogs, just like life, call for a positive and upbeat attitude. The more we think about the bad, the more we see it, and same with the good. It is okay to show all the wonderful things in your life - that means you are thankful for what you have and trying to make your life even happier.

Cranberryfries said...

Whenever I get too much into a fun project (or a good book) I always think, 'In 10 years I'm not gonna remember that my sink was empty of dishes but I AM going to remember hanging out with my kids, or the fun memories of working/completing a project, or chillin with the hubs.'
I LOVED the way you put it. Perfect for me but not 'perfect'. SO wise.

Esther Noelle said...

I read this on my phone and tried to comment then but it didn't work! This is a great post! Yes I like that your life is perfect for you! We are all different but our lives are perfect for us... :)

Anonymous said...

I love this post. I'm sitting in a filthy room right now. I don't even care. {I should seriously get to cleaning though.}