hoosier mama
By
Farrah
Alexander
I’m Embracing Flawed Motherhood
and Rejecting Pinterest-Perfection
I
F YOU BROWSE the most popular pins on Pinterest,
you’ll see a wide variety of things to do, how to look, how to
live, how to parent, how to love and if you even attempt to
do half of these things, I feel quite certain you will lose your
blessed mind.
Do 600 burpees a day and lose the baby weight! Build a farmhouse table Joanna
Gaines would envy! Dress like Meghan Markle! Organize your life! Avoid screen
time! Try this sangria recipe! Try this energy bar recipe — it’s free of carbs, sugar,
gluten, dairy and taste! Re-arrange your child’s room to promote learning through
play! Try this brownie recipe — the secret ingredient is one full pound of sugar!!
You can find great tutorials and information. But most of the time just
browsing the pins exhausts me. Obviously, there aren’t enough hours in the
day to do everything Pinterest promotes. There aren’t enough hours in the
day to do half of it.
But that’s not what you see on the pins. You see flawless models demonstrating
Pilates moves without a single bead of sweat interfering with their impeccable
makeup. You see regular moms mastering cake decorating as if they have their
own Food Network show. You see gorgeous homes that look like the Fixer
Upper crew just worked their magic.
I’ll admit I enjoy much of it. I can wield a glue gun with the best of them. I
can whip up a meringue for macarons. My family indulges my love of cheesy,
matching T-shirts. It’s fun. I do many things for my family or simply for myself,
because I enjoy them.
But I cannot do ALL THE THINGS. I’m just a mere mortal mom. I can’t start
my day before the sun rises with a grueling workout, then spend the rest of
the day eating a keto, paleo, vegan, low-carb, low-calorie, whatever diet, then
ensure my home looks like a Pottery Barn catalog at all times, then entertain
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my children with crafty activities, then be sure to get plenty of rest.
I can’t. Even if I could, I just don’t want to.
I typically don’t even make the brownies, because I opt for a box mix. Half
my Pinterest attempts end in Pinterest failures.
I’m not a Pinterest-perfect mom. A life without carbs and cake is not a life
I want to live.
My kitchen floor has a perpetual layer of Cheerios. I’m always losing my keys.
I don’t dress or look like Meghan Markle — most of the time I wear yoga pants
(FYI: my yoga pants have never even been to yoga). And that’s OK.
Thankfully, motherhood doesn’t demand perfection.
My kids don’t seem to care about my flaws and inability to keep our home
Cheerios-free, much less magazine-worthy.
I don’t conceal my imperfections and flaws from them, they already know
their mother isn’t perfect – and they don’t care.
There are many things I can’t do, but I can fiercely love my family. I can be
there. I can kiss boo-boos. I can read stories. I can snuggle. It turns out, that’s
enough.
One of the most rewarding and comforting feelings as a parent is to feel
unconditional love reciprocated from your children. Since I don’t follow the
Pinterest-perfect screen time guidelines, my kids are big fans of the Mr. Rogers
inspired Daniel Tiger. We often sing one of Daniel Tiger’s songs to each other…
I like you. I like you. I like you — just the way you are.
If you’re a hot mess mom like myself, this is such a beautiful message to
receive from your children. They know you. They see you. You don’t have
to strive for unattainable perfection. You don’t have to attempt to become
someone you’re not. They like you just the way you are.
However, if you manage to maintain a pristine home complete with organized