Laugh a Little

I am starting this post with no clear idea of where I am going with it. I feel like this may be a bad idea, but I am going on vacation tomorrow, so I will likely forget I posted anyway. 

I've done a lot of thinking about why Facebook has become so annoying to me lately, and I think there are two main reasons. 

The first reason is that everyone is trying to sell something. I have friends who do direct sales who do not fill my newsfeed with advertising disguised as status updates. I am hiding all those that do. 

Secondly, all the posts about how moms have it so hard these days. Oh, I am with you. Mommyhood is hard. I never, ever expected it to be this hard.  And it is good to occasionally read something about how you're not alone in the struggle. If you are a new mom, please read no further. You do need to hear those messages. 

Ok, but, really? The rest of us? First of all, if you're sitting here reading about how hard it all is for the 50th time, does that tell you anything? Let me rephrase.  You are taking time to read about how hard your life is.  Not talking to a friend about it, not reaching out for help, not arranging for time away, and certainly not actually focusing on the tasks at hand. Nope. You're listening to someone who doesn't know you tell you it's ok if you have dirty dishes.

They are absolutely right by the way.  You are one person and it absolutely is impossible to do it all sometimes. So, when you are deciding what must get done for the day, it's possible that dishes come before Facebook surfing and momblog reading. It's possible that you might model better ways of taking a break than gazing emptily at your mobile device. Reporting an article per week about how it's ok not to be perfect. 

We know that. No one is asking for perfection. There is a difference between asking for perfection and asking you to be all in.  If you can't handle being actively engaged most of the time, why are you doing it?

But this is not all doom and gloom. The thing is, I feel like these blogs were spurred by something. I'm guessing the something was distraught moms, shocked at how hard motherhood is. That, I get. I have been there, have the spit-up covered t-shirt.  Here's the thing.  Not having to be perfect, but staying engaged while you are charged with the care of your child, can lead to a lot of silliness, a lot of laughter, a lot of priceless moments. You will find yourself laughing more with your children than you laugh at the stupid meme 400 of your friends will post.