Today I’ve decided to write on life. The everyday, the normal, the tedious. I happened to be thinking of this the other day when I was feeling super worn out from taking care of my kids, a day I found myself wondering when night would come. Or more, if there’d happen to be a sliver of a moment in that same day when I actually would end up having “me time”, or heck, nap time. How glorious that would be! But…none of those was guaranteed. Nope. And yet, difficult though the day was, and how they typically get, I also knew (and know!) that I would have it no other way. These munchkins are absolute jewels, perfect additions to my life.

In that moment though, I found myself also reflecting on the family portraits we’d taken before. How perfect those looked. And do you know what I realized? Those perfect images were but slivers of the real. They were slices in time. Only my close friends and family would know, by interaction, of the stresses and difficulties of my every day. They’d know that raising young kids is difficult; they’d know of moments when I cried from feeling both overwhelmed and unrested; they’d know when I felt like my kids were picking on me, planning their every action to stress me out (so not true, by the way); they’d also know when I felt pure elation from having slotted a one-hour nap in there, and felt so powerful as a result, that I was willing to try jumping off somebody’s roof. The rest of the world would have no idea.

If others got to see those family portraits, they would ooh and aah, and some might even envy us. They might call us the perfect family (and for real, I’m not going to be the one to stop you there, hehe), and many other positives. Such is the image that is a constant feature in people’s social media. Everyone gets to see the near perfection of each other. And to be sure, no one needs to constantly hear of my wailing, frustrations, difficulties, etc. on social media. I say this as I type with one hand and rock a child with the other. 😉 Friend, I merely share all this to say…

The tough days make for beauty. Those nice pictures would in no way exist if, for example, I wasn’t willing to go through the rigors of pregnancy, the trauma of childbirth, the sleepless days of new motherhood, and the occasional (don’t want to scare some people here!) challenges of parenting. I decided that instead of grumble about those difficult moments, I needed to realize that the math there in fact turns out to be something like: tough+tough+wonderful+tough+tough+great = beauty. I have a friend who on social media ends many of her posts with the hashtag #joyinparenting. I tell you what? That’s what I need to embrace. I encourage you to embrace the difficulties of…I don’t know, work life, coaching, business, relationship-building, whatever it is for you that you currently find to be somewhat of a thorn in your flesh. Embrace it with a big ole bear hug, knowing that…out of the ashes you shall riiiiise. Yes, yes, I’m the queen of drama, but I think you get my point. 🙂

Life is indeed an amassment of the good, the bad, the mundane. And yet, la vita è bella. Life truly is beautiful. (Feel free to watch the actual movie, which is also good).

Simply adjust those rose-colored glasses and look again.

©2017, WriTEswAY