Do you know that I lay in bed last night and worried about my November smiles list? I lay there listing off all the amazing things I got to do lately, and wondered, does it look like I've been bragging? Have I given the impression that my life is so perfect?
Cos it's not, you know. And I'd hate for you to think for one second that it is. I have been incredibly blessed this month with some wonderful trips, birthdays, events, people and places. So blessed.
The reality?
Life as we know it still goes on.
Kids squabbling.
Parents agonising over whether we are totally crap and our kids will turn out to be selfish delinquents.
Eight year olds refusing to shower.
Six year olds punishing us for daring to go away by turning into Human Air Raid Sirens.
Two year olds discovering they can push back. And shout. Really really loud.
Marital Discussions. Oh Yes. Even in Business Class.
Panic Attacks. Meltdowns. Tears. In public.
Having your lovely mother in law witness your total lack of energy and your complete inability to clean or tidy or get the kids off to school on those bad days.
Being completely embarrassed to have a witness to your uselessness.
All of this winds through and in and under and over all the great stuff.
Which only makes the great stuff so much sweeter.
It makes "One Hot Mummer" sound like an orchestra playing in your heart.
It gives girlish giggling the sound of tinkling silvery bells.
It turns chubby little hands clasping yours and slobbery kisses into magic things.
It causes the shared wink across the rows in Business Class to swell your heart like SpongeBob in water.
It transforms the folded washing and magically emptied dishwasher into gifts from heaven.
So please excuse me if I have given the impression lately that my life is all rosey.
Roses, yes. But thorns too. Can't have one without the other, can you?
That's the Reality.
xx
PS: The pictures are from Sunday night at Motat Nights Christmas Lights (gold coin donation). The Victorian village is all lit up, the blacksmith forge operating, actors getting the kids playing Victorian games, a sweet-maker making candy (you can even make your own), mulled wine for sale...
My idea? Arrive home from the airport, pile everyone in the car and do something fun and spontaneous as a family. Er, yeah. I didn't check the times, the kids were grumbling and complaining, tired and hungry. We had to wait for it to open, parked in the wrong place and had to walk for miles... I nearly gave up on the whole darn idea. But we persevered and in the end had a magic night together. That's life aye??
10 comments:
Great post and beautifully written. You totally deserve to shout your happiness from the rooftops. We all have the yin and yang in life. There isn't one without the other and the not so good makes us really savour, appreciate and celebrate the great stuff. It's important to let the bad stuff wash over us and away, not lingering like a bad smell to weigh us down. I read your post with a feeling of, 'Good for you!' as we make what we can of life and when we have some good times we should cherish them and hold them close. Of course the daily 'stuff' is always in the background, that's a given. We live hoping to keep the negative stuff firmly in the background, as we all know too well how tough it is when the ugly stuff pushes to the foreground of our lives.
So yah! You so deserve to SMILE! xx
HEAR! HEAR! to all Sarah has said above - you ABSOLUTELY deserve to shout about your happiness and those good times! I thought it was such a great idea to record your stories of happiness and smiles - especially for 'those' days when everything is crap, to look back and be reminded of your blessings. I'm thinking I need to do that more than I am...
A beautifully written post Simone - sending you a big hug from London XO
I loved this post. It is hard to know what others think so I had to decide that I can't worry too much about it. Some times life is roses and some times when it is thorns you are not so excited to share them.
Oh Simone, you totally deserve all the wonderful things you've done last month and more!! It is lovely to see your joy.
I love that through the tough stuff you can always find the good and it is inspiring and when I read your posts it reminds me to always look for the positive, no matter what is going on.
Thanks for keeping it real too - its validating to know that other people have children who fight, refuse to shower etc, marital discussions.
Enjoy the blessings you have received, you deserve them, and don't apologise for your joy! we are all cheering alongside you :)
Agree with all that's been said and will add that keeping it real means that sometimes life is just plainly full of awesomeness.... and then sometimes it's not. We all want it to be fab 95% of the time so when it is SCREAM it! And when it's not SCREAM it too!!
Much lovexxxx
P.S. hon, do you realise that all your blog posts are uploading on the Equippers Kids FB page??? And also bought the mag today, awesome work on the article!!
AWESOME.....you go for it... it's great to focus on the positive...I mean if you were continually posting about the 'not so fab" stuff that happens...we'd all be worrying about you! hahaha... (besides we all have that stuff to deal with on a daily basis too!).
I say go for it...post all the stuff you love and are proud of, and celebrate it!! I loved your post!! :)
Ah Simoney, you are so REAL that no-one would ever accuse you of bragging too much about the times that life is great. And what kind of life would it be if we all couldn't revel in the beautiful moments when they come along. The great thing about life is its ability to keep us on its toes - like you said thorns between roses, and the good follows the bad follows the good follows the bad - and that can just be in one day right?!
I for one, loved your November smiles. But I also loved how the MOTAT night that nearly wasn't became another memory to treasure. Sometimes it's all about the perseverance in spite of the odds we're given. And us mums, we have plenty of that!
Celebrate the highs Simoney!!!!
It is a good thing!
love and light
I totally hear you, Simoney! Especially the mother-in-law part. We are inbetween houses and bunking with the in-laws at the moment, and, well...it's been rough, because my bad days are outnumbering the good right now.
But I like your analogy...can't have roses without thorns. Thanks for the reminder :) xo
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