Have you ever noticed that an ice cream sundae is the perfect blend of imperfection? As soon as you begin to indulge in it, the ice cream begins to melt. The chocolate sauce drips off in all the wrong places. The toppings begin to get lost within the ice cream, and the cherry on top is barely hanging on. It will become a mess, but it will taste delicious all the same.
We need to snap a photo of that sundae before it begins to get messy. Before it loses its “perfection.” At least, that is what we are lead to believe.
We are told to strive for a perfect life, the ideal husband, the amazing vacation, and to snap it all in the perfect photo. With the rise of Instagram, have the expectations we set on our children and ourselves become destructive?
How do you feel when you scroll through Instagram and see a fellow mommy with a seemingly perfect life? We have all seen her. She is gorgeous, with a handsome husband, an unbelievable house and an unparalleled sense of style. Her children appear angelic in every photo.
You see this mommy and think for a minute, “I wish I had a life like that. I wish I could take those vacations. I wish I could wear those clothes.” For that minute, you felt inadequate.
Why have we quantified our worth by the likes of strangers?
Think back to when you were a child. You did not have an itinerary for every weekend that included brunch. You did not have “the perfect everything.” You had a roof over your head, summers spent outside, and a nice dinner out was a big deal, not a weekly occurrence. Children today do not know what to do with their free time because they are expecting every second of their life planned to “perfection.”
I witnessed a mother at the mall tell her son, “Don’t smile like that. No one liked that smile the last time. Do something else.” My heart broke for that child. She was so focused on the result of her Instagram feed; she did not see the beautiful boy in front of her. That is toxic.
Mamas, you do not have to be perfect.
You do not have to have perfect children.
You do not need to have a perfect Instagram feed.
The likes of strangers do not determine your worth.
Real-life is a cherry on top of an already imperfect but exquisite sundae. Make sure you take delight in every messy bite.
