I am consistently human… despite my attemps to be perfect I fear I am not.   But save your lifesaver because I certainly don’t consider myself someone who needs to be rescued.  In fact my Baby Lyon informed me that in the world of baseball if your batting average is above 400% then you would be amongst the greatest players of all time.  So where does that leave me…  I guess that makes me a perfectly normal human.   I refuse to conform to the art of perception…. the make believe world of facebook.  I loathe that a post somehow represents an accurate version of who someone is.   Everything is not as it seems and a picture is worth a thousand worlds…. especially if you could see in the background.  It certainly works to my advantage.  I can stage, shove and angle my shots with the best of them.  Sometimes when my house is a mess I will letterally move the clutter two feet to the left and abra cadabra… my house is perfectly clean!  I hate to break it to you but glitter isn’t really gold… being human doesn’t make us weak and falling down doesn’t mean we failed…  it makes us real.  I used to want to be a lot of things…. successful, funny, rich adventurous, happy, honest and kind just to

name a few but in an effort to simplify my life and yet another attempt to be more realistic I just want to be one thing….. I want to be BRAVE.

Yea… I know…. Brave.  But when it really comes down to it… being brave is seriously all I want to be.  And if I am brave the rest of my life will magically fall into place.  I want to be the girl who has an incredible life…a life full of success, laughs, accomplishments, magical moments, miracles, confidence  and more happiness and and love than I will ever truly deserve.   A girl who is crazy happy … happy with herself, obsessed with her son and madly in love with her husband…. a girl who has it all* but is brave enough to let the world know that even when life is good sometimes there will be dark nights and long crappy days.

I want to live in a world where a “post” doesn’t define who we are.  The one who has the most “picture perfect” posts wins… they win the grand prize of living in denial and I pray their house of cards never falls or than they will just have to be… well like the rest of us.   Now before you think I am hating on perfectly staged pictures check yourself.  I would live in a staged world if I could.  I love things to look perfect, I obsess about details and who

doesn’t appreciate a perfectly coordinated outfit in family picture.  But being brave allows for good days and bad days.  A less than perfect post doesn’t mean we are standing on a cliff and need to be talked down.  It doesn’t mean our life is a failure and we are in a downward spiral to hatred and despair.  For me… in my world it means I am just being real.  Really honest with myself, my friends and I guess if it is on the internet the world.  It means I know who I am… a girl who is human 10 times and of 10, a girl who will screw up, fail, fall, cry, drop of the grid and want to be left alone…. but not forever just for a day or two.

But being brave allows me to fall and get back up.  Being brave gives me the courage to know that hope is never gone.  A dark night is always followed by a bright new day.  Being brave allows me to know that my world does not have to be perfect to be amazing.  I want
to be the girl who gives someone else hope… a picture perfect post doesn’t mean my life is perfect… and a brave girl knows she can post a picture that is less than perfect and just maybe it will be a small light that shines through someone’s dark night and gives them hope.

Be brave…. have hope and reach out for a hand to hold.  We all need a hand… sometimes it’s a hand up, handout, high five or pat on the back.  Don’t get down.  If we fall get back up.  Try a little harder to be a little better.

Cheers to being brave.  Cheers to stop looking back… it will only slow you down…. stop looking over…. your shoulder… judging people is like poison.  Own the day…. And know… you are good enough. You make the world a better place just by being in it.  Love more,  try harder, forgive always and never stop trying.  In the words of a little Idaho Girl who had the faith and courage to journey to the Big City of Atlanta… Be Brave and just keep believing in yourself.

 

Seize the day people… keep it real and most of the time life is really amazing but by chance for a brief moment it is not… please know your normal.  There isn’t a photoshop for life so not everything is going to be perfect.

Full disclosure: I had to google batting average because I couldn’t remember what number Cart said was “good” and he is currently asleep.   Regarding my Dark Night Post… I am glad I posted something that wasn’t glamorous… I am fine.  No need to pray for me to be saved.  Not everything has to be picture perfect… and we can still all be fine… in fact great! And to think I almost didn’t post it.  I seriously flipped a coin… Heads- don’t post… Tails-post. The moral of the story is… tails never fails.  But don’t leave defining moments in your life by chance.  Take the bull by the horns and own your own destiny.  At the very least… admit when you have screwed up.   🙂

Ps. *Having it all doesn’t mean having everything… just means you’re happy with what you have… and the best things in life are people and not things.