10 Truths About Friendships That Kids Can Teach Adults

My mom always said you should never have to put more into a relationship than 60/40 to make it work. At times, you will be the 60 and at others, your friends will be the 60, but if a relationship… of any kind… becomes more giving than balancing, than it is probably not worth your energy in the long run. 10 years ago that made sense and it still rings true today. Friendships, especially as adults with families, careers, making ends meet, yada yada yada are hard to maintain, let alone keep. True friends, of course, get that your friendship will ebb and flow, moving with the current in life, but always in the right direction. But still, at the end of the day, friendships though important and sacred, can be down right exhausting.

Until that is, I started watching… not keeping my eye on… but REALLY watching my daughter’s interactions with her friends. Slowly but surely I began to see a pattern- a simple approach to friendship. An innocent, honest, raw and EASY happiness in the children, both on their faces and in their actions. Day after day, I think about all of the “things” we need to teach our children: manners, ABC’s, numbers, etc… but the more I am surrounded by these tiny, beautiful, wacky people, the more I realize I am learning from them.

Here are 10 truths that I was reminded of by watching my daughter and her tiny people posse:

Friends Come in ALL Shapes, Colors and Sizes

Living in a town as culturally diverse as Puerto Viejo, we often find ourselves rubbing elbows with parents and children from around the world.  Just in my daughter’s class alone there are kids from Switzerland, France, America, Canada, Italy and of course Costa Rica.  To them, they are just kids; some with brown hair, some with blonde, some with dark skin, some with light skin.  Age, race, shape and more doesn’t even come into play (pun intended) when these kids get together.  Adults should learn to look through a kaleidoscope-esque lens more often, seeing people for WHO they are, not what they are or where they come from.  Adults could benefit incredibly by the innocent acceptance of people that children so beautifully and easily possess.

Find Someone You Can Be Yourself With

One of the most important things about having friends is the opportunity to just be yourself.  A true treasure in life is finding that person or group of people who allow you to be exactly who you are without hesitation.  Find someone, in every relationship you enter, that loves you for you and not someone they WANT you to be.

Find Someone You Can Be Silly With

Hopefully, you have a circle of friends like this, but if not, I sincerely hope you start making some. Happiness comes in spades when you are surrounded by people who enjoy being silly and letting loose.  Watch children who spin in circles together just to fall down and laugh and you’ll see the allure… having fun + not caring who’s watching = pure joy.

Sharing is Caring

This may seem rudimentary and we all know kids have a hard time with this one too.  It’s ONCE THEY GET IT, that the wheels start turning and they actually enjoy sharing.  Now, my daughter and nephew try to pass their harmonicas back and forth more than you’d probably like to imagine.  I don’t expect you to start sharing your tooth brush with anyone, and granted you never did get that DVD back the last time you let a friend “borrow” it, but sharing comes in all forms.  Have a friend taking a new class? Lend her your book.  Have a new mom in the group? “Share” with her some of your first time mommy thoughts in a card or a journal, written specifically for her to pull on in tough times.  Is your friend meeting her boyfriend’s parents for the first time?  Share a sure fire, crowd pleaser recipe that you know will knock their socks off.  Sharing is more than giving an object to a friend, but the concept still remains so simple.

Imitation is Truly the Best Form of Flattery

Despite the age old adage, imitation can be rather frustrating.  Doctors say that toddlers imitate other children as a way to feel connected socially, while simultaneously beginning to introduce the notion of empathy.  In many ways, adults who mimic their friends are also only trying to “be a part of something” and imitate because they admire or enjoy the positive experiences associated with what it is that you’re doing.  Take it for what it is and appreciate the flattery.  If someone wants to mimic you, then truly give them something worth mimicking; you could sign up for a 5k or volunteer your time with charities, suggesting to your friend to join along.

Fighting is Normal

Kids fight.  Adults fight.  Parents fight.  Siblings Fight.  It’s all a part of it.  If you’re fighting, then MORE THAN LIKELY it’s because you have something worth fighting for… your friendship.  If not, it would have been Wam Bam, Thank You Mam… I’m OUT!  Get over it and see below.

Making Up Doesn’t Have To Be So Dramatic

Ok, so you had a fight?  Figure out if there was a legitimate reason for it and address it.  If it was something petty, do like the kids do: kiss and make up.  Assuming it was nothing life altering, you really can just hug it out and move on.  No, seriously, you can.

Find Someone You Can Dance With

Watching my daughter twirling with her friends is not only exciting for her but melts my heart at the sincere happiness being shared in such a simplistic way.  2 little lives… or maybe 3 or 4 or 5… dancing and jumping and twirling together, just because it makes them happy.  Rhythm or not, I love jumping on their bandwagon and joining the fun.  You truly can’t be down if you are grooving to some tunes, especially with your BFFs.

At The End of The Day, Sometimes You Just Have to BE THERE

Having friends to do things with, dance with or be silly with is great, but sometimes you just need someone to be there with.  No talking, no explaining, just being.  In these moments of silence and support, you find your true soul savers… the ones that are there for you, when there’s nothing to do but be.  Easier said than done, but the ones that can do this are irreplaceable.

It’s Okay To Need Time For Yourself

And finally, perhaps the best thing we can all learn from children is that it is perfectly fine to need some time to ourselves.  It is both scary and satisfying learning to be OK on your own… to know you don’t need someone around to make you complete.  When we finally come to this realization, we are on our way to being a better friend to others… and ourselves.

To The Friends Who Want Me to Stay Still…

Since leaving for college it seems I have been prisoner to explaining my need to go.  17 years old and leaving to another town, another state, hours away had never felt so right.  I wasn’t leaving them I would explain over and over, but simply leaving.  Moving on to a new place, new faces… not a new me, but a different me.

Over the last 10 years I have moved from my small home town to another state and eventually another country, always farther from “home” but closer to finding me.  It has never been about running or hiding or leaving a bad thing.  I am a traveler at heart, a shaker in my soul.  I need to move, I need to feel the change of a new pathway under my feet and the smell the scent of a new garden in the air.  I need to hear the sounds of a new town waking up in the morning and see the lights of a new city finally dim at night.  The adrenaline of feeling outside of my comfort zone is euphoric.  I need to keep going.

Mountain Views in Guatemala.

 

Anyone who travels know this.  Gets this.  Feels this.  Needs this.

Yet every time, without fail, I am accused of abandoning someone.  Questioned, yelled at, cried to, asked to stay.  But I never can.

To my friends that want me to stay still, I simply say… move.  Get in your car first and drive somewhere, anywhere, different.  Feel the wind on your face and the sun on your arm hanging out the window on your drive to no man’s land.  Jump on a plane or a train or a bus, who cares… just let it take you somewhere different.  Unknown.  Unfamiliar.  Possibly unplanned.

The moments I have impulsively buckled in for a road trip or jumped on a bus to a random town in Spain have been the most freeing moments of my life.  Navigating through Central America with only a paper map, Abasi and a bottle of tequila for courage has been one of my most rewarding experiences.

Navigating… and lost… in Mexico.

 

In every new body of water I stand reflected in, every new language I immerse myself in or every unknown alley I take, I turn towards a better understanding of myself.  A intimacy hard to explain unless you have stood at a literal crossroads and simply pointed in the direction you wanted to go, unaware of the outcome.

Tarifa, Spain

 

Even now… in paradise… I feel myself itching anxiously to move.  To see, to experience, to feel vulnerable again.

To my friends that want me to stay still, know this: I carry our stories on my journeys and weave your spirits into my experiences.  I do not leave you behind, but carry you beside me into every new cafe or bookstore I venture.  I roam because you have strengthened me enough to feel as if I can venture out and always have a home to return to.

And once you go, explore and return, overflowing with new ideas and tales of adventures you will get it.  Feel it.  You will come back with friends’ names you can barely pronounce whom with you’ve had conversations barely understandable between the barriers of language, yet you will feel FULL.  Alive.  You will feel humbled.  Rich.  But most of all you will finally get that every movement I ever took didn’t take me away from you, simply closer to you in another direction.

Just go.  And then you won’t have to ask me why I can’t stay.

Tarifa, Spain.

My Little Girl’s Gentle Soul: Nature vs Nurture

To say that my daughter surprises and inspires me daily is an understatement.  The obvious humor Kennedy possesses is nothing compared to the gentle soul that frequently expresses empathy for others.  I have seen my 2 year old care more for other human beings than some grown folk.  By 1 years old she was rubbing the backs of older children who were crying, obvious to their sadness.  As her age progressed, so did her awareness of situations with pain and sadness, leaving her to cry at sad songs in movies… obviously my child with that one.  She just gets it.

Today I stood in awe from the doorway as I watched my tiny little human, the best thing I have ever created, line her animals and dollies up on the bed to sleep, whisper in their ear and kiss them on their heads.  Kennedy beams beautiful from the inside out.  She has grace that I cannot explain and question if I can even take credit for.

Of course there are moments when the terrible twos rage their screaming, belligerent heads.  Moments where she looses all human like qualities and simply flails on the ground like a sea creature out of water.  Oh yes, my darling daughter does that also.  But I feel like those moments only help to show the stark contrast that is her soft and gentle nature.

How did this happen?  Is it simply who she is or a direct result of our obvious award winning and glorious parenting?  Though I obviously kid about the next-to-Godly job I am doing parenting, I do pray that my daughter’s kindness comes at least in part from her interactions with Abasi and I.  “Dear God, please allow Abasi and I to continue being the very best parents we can” is a nightly prayer.  I only want to do the VERY best I possibly can do for her… nothing more, nothing less.

Hopefully it is a combination though.  Hopefully Kennedy’s born nature is working in peaceful unity with the examples she sees not only from Abasi and I, but from her family, friends and surroundings.  The simple nature that is our life here in Costa Rica hopefully lends Kennedy to feeling less of the hustle and bustle stress of an over-stimulated world.  I certainly have moments that are not in my finest hour, when the stress of the day erupts after washing the 100th plate of the day and the dirty dish water splashes up into my face and over on the floor, leaving me howling out the kitchen window like a crazed wolf.  Oh yes, picture it.  These moments I would rather prefer her NOT to note for later use.

The moments like today only inspire me to snip my loose ends and tighten up my game.  Not because I am trying to be perfect and act like I don’t loose my cool or have moments of being incredibly overwhelmed.  I want to simply mirror the beauty that I see in my daughter.  If she can learn from my nurture, then why can I not learn from hers?

And if this is the result- this small, beautiful, bundle of empathy, humor and grace than I am humbled, truly humbled, to be her mother, her teacher and her student.

I Forgot I Wanted Christmas…

I think I forgot how much I actually wanted Christmas.  No, not the gifts or the Christmas carols.  And definitely not the snow… just Christmas.  I know what the holiday is about.  I was raised in a church and I get the religious reasons for Christmas, but we would be fooling ourselves if we said that was all Christmas is about anymore.  Maybe it shouldn’t be this way… but it is.

What I’m realizing I want is the big Christmas tree, with the pretty and special ornaments.  The sparkling lights, the candles, the wreaths.  I want the stockings all lined up across my parent’s mantle.  The houses lit up throughout the neighborhoods. Time with all of my crazy, ridiculous, obnoxiously loud but beautiful family members I rarely see.  Keep the presents, I just want these things.

To understand you kinda gotta know my mom is a wonder woman.  Seriously.  As a child, we always went to my Grandma Jo’s house for Christmas.  EVERYONE.  All 5 of her kids, whatever kids they had at the moment.  Whatever girlfriends, boyfriends, neighbors, friends, co-workers you name it that wanted to join… could and did.  My Grandma passed away when I was 7 years old and without missing a step, my mom (& dad) inherited 2 dogs and Christmas.  If you ask me, my mom was born to host Christmas.  Yes, I’m sure she stresses herself out beyond belief, but if you could see the house after she decorates, or taste her cooking, or see the mantle with EVERY SINGLE PERSON’S stocking lined up across, then you would get it.  She makes it so special.  And so now, 20 years after taking over Christmas, the “Prizzi Christmas” is a full on circus of family, babies, friends, cursing, laughing, drinking, eating and an abundance of sassy love.

Love this picture of us for Kennedy’s 1st Christmas, but the real point for this picture is LOOK AT THE MANTLE BEHIND US! All of those stockings!! No one is ever left out!

Why am I so bothered about it this year?  Because this year, we are not going “home” for the holidays.  Instead we’re staying in our home of Costa Rica, basking in the sun, drinking margaritas and enjoying Christmas with fellow traveling friends, family and Lazy Mon staff.  And please, don’t pity me… it will be amazing.  I know this because I’ve done it one other time.  The year Abasi and I trekked to Costa Rica, we stayed for Christmas instead of going back to the States.  But we were high on the excitement of a new adventure then… and childless.  Now that we have a family, it hurts not to spend the holidays with our EXTENDED FAMILY.  And I know it hurts them too, which always deepens the pain.

I don’t know if it’s more of a subconscious desire to have the Christmas I’ve known for 27 years or if it’s a “you want what you can’t have” type of thing.  All I know is I’ve found myself in a manic-esque craze the past week, pulling every DIY Christmas project from my arsenal.  My top Google searches are “DIY Christmas Wreaths”, “Salt Dough Ornaments”, “Homemade Christmas Decorations.”  I am craving to create Christmas in the Caribbean.  I want to see it. I want Kennedy to see it.  I feel like I need it to breathe right now.

Trial run for salt dough ornaments. Niki, Kai, Kennedy and I will make more later this week… new tradition for the cousins??

And so, here I am, spray painting pickle jars to turn into snowmen candle holders, buying cheap plastic garland to spruce things up, pulling every Santa hat I own out of hiding and making Salt Dough ornaments for a tree I have yet to find.  In the end it will look “nice”, yet I still find myself yearning for the traditional Christmas I’ve known for 27 years but never knew I NEEDED.

This will be hard.  Not just for me, but for my parents and I hate that.  Aside from not having me, Kennedy or Abasi home for the holidays, they also won’t have my brother for the first time, who is here in Costa Rica with us right now.  But that is a silver lining… we do have some family here.  Like I’ve said before, Abasi’s brother Khalil with his wife (and my sister I never had) Niki live here in Puerto Viejo too.  And they have their son Kai, so for the first time Kennedy and Kai will actually spend Christmas together.  And my brother will be here, celebrating with us too.  It’s our little satellite family, and I thank God for it.

So I guess that’s the way life works right?  Circumstances force you to make decisions that you can either feel sorry about or make something of.  While I am sad, I choose to make something of it.  I will DIY the hell outta this house.  I WILL find a freaking tree.  I WILL put some Christmas magic into my tiny little Caribbean house.  And I’ll do it because my Mom did it for us and because I clearly loved it more than I ever acknowledged.  I have attachments to Christmas, that once deprived of, I never knew existed.  And do you want to know something pathetic?  I don’t think I have ever once thanked my Mom for putting together the amazing Christmas she does year after year.

So to you Mom, who I know is reading because you always do:  THANK YOU!  Thank you for running around, stressing yourself out, cooking for more than 30 people every year, decorating the house, lining up our stockings and making everyone feel so welcomed.  But more than anything, thank you for creating a tradition in a loving home.  Time after time, you knock it outta the park!

Happiest Gramz in the world. The tree doesn’t hold a candle to either of their shining smiles!

To all of you, Happy December 1st!  24 days to go, enjoy your holidays with your family and friends no matter where you are and cherish the traditions you have with your loved ones.  Does anyone out there have a crazy, fun or sentimental tradition you want to share?  I would love to hear it!

Innocence at it’s best… Kennedy’s 1st Christmas ❤

I think the little Jungle Princess is a bit overwhelmed with all of the “stuff” during her 2nd Christmas. No sticks and seashells here Kennedy.

It’s ok… she got use to the material life pretty quick…. she was on the phone all day with her stockbroker : )

Birthdays After Babies: From Sexy and Spontaneous to Scheduled and Simple

A homemade birthday card, Saturday Fresh Market shopping, coffee on the beach before some serious wave action, breakfast for lunch accompanied by margaritas and I would say Abasi’s birthday was off to a kickin’ start. Some R & R at the house before the night got started and then it was dinner with close friends at a beautiful Italian restaurant, cocktails at… well our bar… followed by an incredible fire show and a group of almost 100 friends and guests singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY in an incredibly off key and awesome way! And because nothing is quite normal in Puerto Viejo, Abasi’s “final” candle he had to blow out was a fire dancer’s torch. And the icing on the cake, pardon my pun, was we had a babysitter until 1am! Holy cow, we were finally out… as adults… partying and dancing with friends! It was truly a great day and we are so blessed for the people in our lives.

 

Yet, I couldn’t help but to think back to previous birthdays of ours… in our younger and carefree days if you will and laugh at how different it is from now. WE WENT TO SPAIN for one of my birthdays for Pete’s sake. Abasi’s birthday 3 years ago was spent in a shotty motel room on our trek to Costa Rica. After spending the day lost, we checked into the only motel we could find, our tail between our legs and settled on a beautiful birthday dinner of pistachios and tequila. If you want to read the whole story from that day, you can check out a past blog, http://followtheparrot.blogspot.com/2011/11/birthday-to-remember.html. It’s sure to keep you entertained.

But I digress. My point is we used to be movers and shakers, hotshots doing whatever, whenever. Bar hopping, big bucks spent on birthday dinners, leather jackets, expensive purses, casino boat cruises… man we went all out! I would wear my sexiest high heels all night long. And I mean, ALL NIGHT… like into the morning. We would party until the sun came up! Wake up to a house full of half drank beer bottles and completely drained vodka bottles. Birthday loving? Of course! Whenever, wherever. (Sorry parents, but let’s be honest.)

Fast forward to the present and I’m exhausted writing that last paragraph. NO NO NO, we need to know WHERE we’re going so I can make reservations, WHEN we’re going to plan the babysitter and damnit I’m wearing sandals! I woke up this morning, to the house clean and those 2 bottles of Leffe that we WERE DEFINITELY GOING TO DRINK unopened and sitting in the fridge. And holy cow… birthday sex? Can we pencil it in the DAY BEFORE your birthday to make sure we don’t forget or fall asleep first? It still counts right?

Life Unplanned: 3 Years of Unexpected Bliss

She stares at me from the living room floor and smiles. Lying on the ground in her diaper, watching morning cartoons, pancakes only crumbs now and my coffee needing to be refilled, Kennedy and I have our morning routine down pat. Every morning I wait for the “MAMA??” before I go and open her door to her big girl room. Rushing out and into my arms, I ask… “Did you sleep well?” “Yes mama.” “Did you dream??” “Yes, Mama!” I then proceed to ask her if she dreamt of the most ridiculous and whimsical things, and always am confirmed with a solid, YES! She did in fact dream of these things that I conjured up. Like I said, routine down pat.

And with the 3-year anniversary of our epic road trip/ move to Costa Rica, I find myself in awe at how different life actually is from what we were expecting back then. Freshly engaged and high on the idea of driving through Central America with our 2 dogs, Bentley and Gemini, we couldn’t even fathom the life of bottles, diapers, day care, butt rashes and so forth. Abasi and I were pumped to go run our bar with our partners, party like there was no tomorrow and truly embrace living in another country. But what is it that they say… Life is what happens when you start making plans?

Well, I for one would like to thank life. We were wrong and you were SOO right.

It’s no secret that Kennedy is a perfectly unplanned blessing. I joke all the time about drinking tequila and wishing something into the wind, as I did when I told my sister-in-law, Niki, that I hoped our kids wouldn’t be “too far apart in age” as she held her newborn son. Well, wish came true because I unbeknownst to me I was already pregnant. So again… DO NOT DRINK TEQUILA AND MAKE WISHES INTO THE WIND… unless you want life to get awesome and crazy, then do it now.

When I found out… At 3 MONTHS… that I was pregnant, I was shocked. Scared. Shocked. Sad. Happy. Shocked. You get the point. It wasn’t planned, it wasn’t the right time, we didn’t even have permanent housing yet. But we figured it out. Because we had too, and sometimes you need that little shove in the right direction.

As I would find out, our true destiny in moving to Puerto Viejo was not to run a bar but to become parents. I truly believe with every fiber of my being that I was meant to become a mom here. Kennedy was meant to be born here and start our adventure. Without a doubt. I had the easiest, healthiest pregnancy. I ate delicious, fresh fruits and walked or rode my bike everywhere. I felt great pregnant. And to top it off, I had the easiest, calmest delivery known to man. Start to finish, 45 minutes… I mean C’MON!!! What else could I have asked for? But that was all just the beginning, and now we’re on this adventure that I never expected but could never, and mean never, comprehend not having.

Raising Kennedy in Costa Rica, with her best friend and older-by-7-months cousin Kai, is beautiful to watch because it’s so different than the normal experiences I hear about.  I’m humbled watching her grow because I know I never would have chosen this for her, yet thankfully something divine knew the direction our life would take and give this to her anyway. As I type this, I am asking her to go watch TV or play with her toys so I can concentrate, but she is insisting we go outside instead. And yesterday she wanted to go surfing. Who is this kid, and how did we get so lucky? She eats exotic foods and flavors, speaks Spanish and English, craves the ocean, sings her heart out and prefers climbing “like a mono (monkey)” then playing with toys. She rides a stick horse around, clicking her tongue to mimic the sound of hooves. Growing up in Costa Rica has brought out the most organic parts of being a kid and she isn’t overwhelmed or over-stimulated by toys, lights, beeping, etc. And trust me, I ain’t judging any other way, because like I’ve said… this was never our plan, just our destiny.

And while Kennedy is the main diversion from our original plans, other things have come and gone in 3 years that we never foresaw. For starters, we have lived in 5… yes FIVE… different houses in 3 years. Finally, we are in a home that we know we have long term, but the continuous stress of moving a family with a baby and 2 dogs, the uncertainty of having a living arrangement to fit our needs, was never on our radar back then. The feeling of not being rooted was at times overwhelming and induced bouts of homesickness. It was rough, but it tested our faith and our relationship, and each time we made it out on the other side. And maybe coincidentally or maybe as a divine reward, each time the house was that much better for our family.

As for family, one of the bigger surprises was having my brother Brandon move with us almost a year ago. Brandon knew he needed a change, we wanted Brandon to experience new things and thankfully everyone was prepared for the adjustment. It has been one hell of an experience, reuniting with my brother after not having lived near each other for almost 9 years. There have definitely been ups and downs and obstacles to understanding each other, but we’re finally starting to get the hang of the whole brother-sister friendship thing and I have to say… I don’t hate it.

         

Clearly, not all changes have been for the better. Losing Gemini last week was devastating. I felt like I had lost a life long friend because even though she was “only a dog” she was 1 of 4 breathing souls that understood our journey to here. And now she’s gone and though she was getting older, I really truly never expected to bury her here. But again, literally as I type I realize, maybe that is for the better. We won’t always live in Puerto Viejo. There will be a day when we move on, but a part of our hearts and our family will always be here. And we buried her in a remote beach area with a coconut and the hopes that a tree will sprout through the burial site and she can be a part of the continuous circle of life. Gemini will always be here, so we will always be here, in one way or another.

 

And there it is. 3 years of twists and turns. Ups and downs. Uncertainty and growth, changes and surprises. I had no idea when we finally pulled out of our drive way in South Carolina to begin our trek, that it would lead us to this point in life. To parenthood, to losing Gemini, to gaining a friendship with my brother. For every diaper I didn’t expect to change, I gained a kiss from my daughter. And for every shot of tequila I can’t take late night at the bar, I gained an “I love you Mama.” Life happened. We adapted. We grew. We found real love.

Life happened exactly how we didn’t expect it to… and we gained a family. I couldn’t have planned it better myself.

The Perfect Moment to Share…

As a mom, and a young mom, I always want life to seem perfect.  I know this is unrealistic, but still I want to dress my daughter in the cutest outfits and rocking a perfect fro. I want to seem as if I am 2 steps ahead and with every hair in its pretty little place. Frustrated? Me? NEVER! Losing control? Get real! And need proof, that life is just as it should be, well then take a look at my Instagram account. The perfect sunset behind my handsome and buff man, kids playing perfectly in the water, dinner that is worthy of the cover of a cooking magazine? Of course, I want to portray control and beauty. Of course, I only show the real world my semi-real world. Would you show a picture of your 3 loads of CLEAN laundry heaped on the floor? Or of that burnt chicken that not even your dog would eat? How about a picture of your 2 year old throwing a tantrum on the floor and you sitting on the couch, dazed and about to lose it? Didn’t think so.

I do seem to live a pretty perfect life. I have a sexy fiancée, a beautiful and healthy daughter, a thriving business and we live in Costa Rica for goodness sake! And don’t get me wrong… life is good, but there are always thoughts about the “grass being greener on the other side.” And after going back and forth with it, feeling guilty about everyone constantly saying “Your life seems so perfect!” “I wish I had your life,” blah blah blah, I realized WHO CARES?! I realized it’s OK if I show the perfect moments in a not perfect world. Do I look ready to take on the world every day, strong, confident and beaming? No! A lot of days I’m in yoga pants with no bra on until late afternoon and only after walking past myself in the mirror 20+ times do I finally get my arse in gear. That’s when I would snap that perfect shot! And if you think my beautiful little girl, who takes the most absolute perfect pictures, simply stares off into the sunset like that… well then you’re only kidding yourself. I had to take 18,000 pictures to get that one, and her look of deep thinking is more of a purposely-not-looking-at-mom look. And damn if I didn’t make a beautiful looking eggplant parm the other night, but I bet you couldn’t tell from the pictures that my pasta was… and I apologize to my mother for this… UNDERCOOKED! But it looked good right? Bet your arse it did.

The way I choose to look at it is this: Life is not perfect. Things happen in the blink of an eye, life changes, you burn the chicken and your kid poops on the ground. So when I post a picture of my little girl gazing out into the water, small smile on her face, with the perfect filter on the photo to capture the moment and someone says “Wow, you really are living the life,” I smile, guilt free and think… yes, at that very moment I was. And even if the next moment is Kennedy sprawled out on the sand, kicking and screaming because we’re leaving the beach, then just for that one moment it was perfect. And there will be more. And maybe, just maybe, Instagram DOES depict life as it truly is. Just little snapshots of perfection in a crazy world. And when that next moment happens, I promise to show you.   With a perfect filter to fit that perfect moment. You can count on it.

 

Name(required)

Email(required)

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ