Momma's Not Perfect

Ah.....to be a blogger.  It's brilliant really. Blogging allows you to share your life with a kind of anonymity that you can't achieve elsewhere. You can be whoever you want. A fashionista. A craft diva. Urban homesteader extraordinaire. You can sell a version of yourself that may not be entirely true or even attainable. I find this to be especially true with the so called "Mommy Bloggers." I read several blogs and though I return to them day after day, I wonder if any of them are really portraying the real lives of the women who write them. These "wonder women" craft, bake, sew, clean, worship, school, garden, farm, preserve, recycle and still have time to take beautifully composed photographs of their children frolicking in the woods in homemade clothing. In short, they are exactly the kind of women I want to be. They are living simply. Deliberately. Exactly the way I wish to live. But are they really that perfect? Is it all so effortless?

The beauty of blogging is that you are control of content. The not so nice stuff can be edited or even omitted completely. I will be the first to admit that the life I write about here and our usual day to day is quite different. Not that what I write about doesn't actually happen....we do craft, and sew, and bake and so on. I've had several people mention what a "wonder woman" I seem to be but let me tell you folks, there's a lot going on behind the scenes that you don't see. For example, despite kicking cable the curb many moons ago, my kids still watch TV on a daily basis. A lot less TV, but it still happens. We still eat fast food even though I know it's horrifically bad for us and for the environment. I don't hang every single load of laundry on the line. I still use a chemical cleaner in my bathroom because I can't for the LIFE of me concoct a natural one that will get that nasty gray ring out of my tub! I (gasp) yell at my kids. It's true. This green living, simple lovin' Momma ain't perfect....and neither are you.

I'm doing a lot of things right but there is still much room for improvement. I get complacent. Better choices aren't always easier choices. We are continually evolving, and every choice we make is a chance to do better. I can be greener. I can definitely simplify things. But I'm not going to obsess about being perfectly perfect. If I give up and order preservative laden pizza for dinner, so what. I'll do better next time. If I buy a shampoo with SLS because I could get it for next to nothing with a coupon, I'll keep an eye on store sales so I can buy the safer herbal one that I can use with a clear conscience. If I forget my reusable bags, I will recycle and reuse the plastic ones I had to bring home from the store. If I lose my temper with my kids I will hug them, apologize and tell them how much I love them.

The journey to a deliberate life is ongoing. I'm not everything I want to be yet and that's okay. I'm getting there.We'll make mistakes but as long as we live authentically and truthfully, we will never be far away from the life we wish to lead. I may not post often about life's little detours but I feel that by keeping things on the lighter side I may inspire others to green up, pare down, and simplify. But don't for one minute think I have it all together. I am forever learning and always behind. It is here, and only here, I can take a piece of what is good in my life and share it...with you, and with myself.

Please take a minute to enter my giveaway.

Gorgeous, FREE jewelry awaits you. Go! Hurry!

 I