Friday, August 1, 2014

#igtruth

Following this blog post that was going around a couple of weeks ago, my weekly coffee date girlfriends and I challenged each other to 24 hours of #igtruth.


The way I look at it, in this social media and blogosphere culture of both inadvertent and intentional shaming ("So what's your excuse?", Mommy Wars, "You have just as many hours in the day as Beyonce", etc.), at what point does Instagram become just another manifestation of the standard of having it all, but with no messy bits?  So, lets take 24 hours to document and celebrate our real life, imperfections included.

You know those photos of inanimate objects we all share, with our flawlessly pedicured toes in the background?  Thankfully, they don't show that my custom made shoes are way to big.




And those sweet, innocent little gifts our children give me?  Like the banana peel Bean hurled over her head while we drove home from her play date, one in a half seconds after mumbling "Here ya go, mama.  Hold this".  It smacked me in the cheek before landing in my lap, almost causing me to swerve into the car next to me.



I share pictures of the well-balanced, fun and organic lunches I make our kids just before they create me something amazing during art time, but what about those days when they eat take-out chicken nuggets while watching Cars 2?  An afternoon that definitely won't make it on one of those mommy blogs where every new toddler book or song gets a matching themed craft, snack and sensory bin.  And the dirty band-aid, unbrushed hair, and that gold headband that she hasn't taken off for 3 days?  Yeah.



I probably posted half a dozen pictures of Bean and Sprout helping The German build their train table, of myself lovingly painting topography and lakes, and of the first time they played with it when they took turns being the giant monkey who attacks the train station.  I usually crop it out of shots now, since 95% of the time it is covered with all the other junk we haven't put away.



All those photos of the vibrant fruit and veggies I buy from the vendor with a tiny wooden stand on the end of my street?  These were the best potatoes she had today.



The fancy meals prepared for friends in a cute and impractical apron?  Tonight it's shepherd's pie, because I have 5 kg of cooked ground beef to use after my freezer decided to defrost itself without warning.  And I'm going to use a gravy packet.



The romantic date nights photos.  But what about the nights when, despite an hour long routine of warm baths, stories, and getting tucked in, Bean and Sprout rejoin us at 9 p.m.and then we spend twenty minutes explaining why the people were riding a giant bee to the space ship on TV.



And lets not forget the shots of my feet, intertwined with The Germans, as we share a bottle of wine and watch the sunset.  What about the other 4 out of 5 nights, when romance is laughing til we snort while watching "20 Funniest Viral Videos" in bed?  Yeah, we were totally watching a cat video here.



So yes, I started yesterday morning with a leisurely coffee at the city's fanciest and most expensive hotel with four beautiful, put together, funny and cultured ladies. Then I came home to wired and crazy littles.  Some days I make my kids frittatas full of veggies and shaped like sailboats for lunch, then we make Montessori worthy mosaics out of recycled bottle caps.  Other days we eat takeout and color in our Disney coloring books. Some days I make three course dinners just for us that would shame even The Barefoot Contessa.  Other days, dinner all comes in one casserole dish and the recipe included a can of cream of chicken soup.  So as I crop, filter, and pose my way to the perfect Instagram pic, I'm going try to sometimes capture the truth too.  Because, as the cliche goes, that is probably what I will remember, cherish and miss anyway, like this morning's cup of too hot, store brand tea, at 6:30 a.m. instead of 10:30,  hastily gulped through now burned lips while Bean and Sprout race to be the one who gets to help The German feed the cat.  Yup, I've got it all.  Messes, tantrums, and short cuts included.


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