blogging...hummm

This picture has nothing to do with the post. I just had to add it becuase I like pictures along with posts. :)

When I was first introduced to the wondrous world of blogging (before I ever had a blog) I found myself with a slight self-esteem issue.

I remember sitting at my computer that Sunday night clicking from blog to blog to blog to blog...I couldn't stop myself. It was like I was in a trance. I was blog hopping for literally 2 hours and with each click my self esteem got lower and lower.

Why?...

I wasn't quite sure so I decided on the easy fix... ban myself from ever looking at anymore blogs. ever.

Even though I stopped looking at blogs, I kept trying to figure out why I got so down on myself that bleak Sunday night. After a few days I finally figured out the mystery...

I found that when I was checking out all these blogs I kept comparing my life to the lives of these bloggers. The thoughts that kept racing through my mind were,

wow, she does the most creative things with her kids...
Look how cute HER clothes are...
she is a WAY better photographer than I am...
they do family home evening EVERY week...
THEIR house is so organized and clean...
Even their DOG is obedient...

After I finally figured out what was bothering me I had to take a step back and re-evaluate. As I looked at the big picture I could obviously see that I too had good qualities and just because someone posts something great about THEIR life didn't mean that my life was any less great.

I'm 31 years old and I had to re-learn a basic life lesson.

But I'm glad because this is what I learned...

We ALL have strengths, we ALL have weaknesses. Which ones are most likely to be posted on your blog? Your STRENGTHS of course. I'm the first one to admit that before I ever post a picture of myself on MY blog I scrutinize it to make sure that it makes me look as thin as possible and that it doesn't show my less than perfect complextion. It's true, I admit it. I've also learned that most of us don't blog about the times when we all stay in our PJ's until noon (most days for me), our kids WILL NOT listen to a word you say, there's a pungent odor that could be coming from the fridge, garbage or the bathroom and you can't locate it, the laundry is piled so high and the only reason you're REALLY doing it is because you need clean underwear for tomorrow or that you haven't actually scrubbed your shower in over a month. These are the things that don't seem to quite make it on the blog. (uh, I guess until now.)

But that's okay.

For me, and I think most of us, our blogs are about documenting the positive moments in our lives that we never want to forget. It's about showing our friends and family why you are so darn proud of your kids and husbands. It's about being a part of a community where you can interact with other people and share thoughts and ideas.

My slogan for my photography is "capture the moment before everything changes forever". That's what I'm doing when I write each post. It's a journal/scrapbook that I will always have to remember this particular time in my life. It's a way for me to record all the "firsts" but to also record all the special "everyday moments" that make up our lives.

So to those of you who have ever felt intimidated by anybody's life after viewing their blog...
just know that you too are amazing and that someone is probably viewing your blog right now thinking...WOW, she's incredible.