Just Be Happy

As parents in this digital age, we face a whole new and different set of challenges than our parents faced. Today, in every avenue, it is hard to not compare your life to others’.

Pinterest means I have ridiculous ‘to-do’ lists with projects I’ll never finish and meals I’ll never make. How’s that for feeling inadequate? On Facebook and Instagram we are blasted with everyone’s updates, life happenings, adorable babies, travels, and accomplishments. Overall, it’s fantastic. I get to see what all of my friends and family around the world are up to, and feel close even when we are far.

In all of these great updates, I sometimes forget that people tend to post the best parts of their life. Very rarely do we see the downs or the rough days that inevitably we all go through, those projects we just never got to, or the cleaning that never got done. No one wants to share that stuff (including myself). So we must take a step back and remember it’s not always rainbows and butterflies for everyone.

During an evening run last night, I couldn’t stop thinking about why I compare myself to others.  Constantly I am asking myself if I am doing enough. The beautiful evening, the sunset, and the fresh air helped clear my mind. It comes down to happiness. Is Jackson happy? Tyler? Kahla? Am I happy? Yes. We are doing the right thing for our family and making the best decisions we can each day for OUR family. We are doing the best we can. Aren’t we all?

It’s time for me to put the Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest down more often, and spend more quiet hours soaking up every minute of my family. Tomorrow when I get home, I’ll be leaving my phone by the door. Enough trying to keep up with it all. Jackson, Tyler and Kahla deserve 100% of me in those few precious hours we have together each night.