Keeping It Real

First, read this: http://dugansincahoots.com/2014/01/23/we-cant-be-friends/

My dear friends, I can GUARANTEE you that my house will be a mess when you come to visit. I like to keep it real. Nope. That's not true. I would prefer to have my house look clean and well decorated all the time, you know, like in BH&G, just so I could enjoy it. But I just can't keep up with that kind of lifestyle. I would go insane. And my family probably would too. So, I try to adjust my expectations of myself, and pretend that I like to keep it real. I was sick for more than half of January, so things have definitely started to slide around the here. Here's what it looks like right now, this very minute.

Part of me says, "Eek!" Another part of me says, "Are you crazy sharing this mess with the whole world?" Yet another part of me wants everyone to know what my average, everyday house looks like because I have a feeling that if we all saw each other's everyday houses, we wouldn't spend so much time stressing about what everyone else thinks.

So my living room (and all the other rooms in my house) is a mess. But do you know what else I see? Victories. Wins. See that pile of laundry on the couch? Sure, it's not folded and my husband's work shirts are getting all wrinkled and the socks are getting lost in the nether regions of the couch......but it's clean laundry gosh darn it! WIN. See all those books on the bookshelves? I have a family that loves reading. WIN. And the bookshelves have only been in that spot for a couple of weeks and my three-year-old has yet to take the books down or mess them up. WIN. See the laptop open on the ottoman? That means that it's quiet time and my daughter is actually staying in her bedroom for once. WIN. Now, see this pile of puzzles in the playroom?

This means that a couple of days ago, when all I could do was sit on the couch and eat rice cakes, Emily actually played by herself for a little while. WIN - with her that's a HUGE WIN actually. And now that I feel better, she has given me the opportunity to remind her that we clean up after ourselves. WIN. 

In so many ways, my life is messy. But maybe I can keep reminding myself to see the "wins" and posts like the link above will remind both of us that our messes help us keep it real and that's what we're really looking for isn't it? REAL friends with REAL lives and REAL messes. Keep it real, my friends. Keep it real.