A Look at Reality in Our Home
I have been blogging and reading blogs for nearly three years now. If I have learned anything, it is this: a blog is a very narrow look into someone’s life. It is encouraging and challenging to see someone’s triumphs, but what we miss is all of the disasters along the way. Sometimes it isn’t even encouraging anymore, but instead causes blog- or life-envy.
I love it when I can read about someone’s not so super moments, a look into the real life moments of every day. The one’s where you have to laugh, lest you cry. When you realize you are grateful not everyone can see into your home through the internet.
Maybe we should share a peak into our home and life, just as it is. Not to celebrate our shortcomings, but to present the full picture. Besides, true fellowship and hospitality can just as easily involve scrubbing that floor side by side as it does presenting a clean one when guests arrive. Is not a tighter bond formed through the shared work and trials of every day rather than the odd moment things appear pulled together?
Is anyone available to help scrub my tub?
One evening, just over four years ago, a 20-something boy asked me what I was doing on a Friday night. It was my last year of college and if I wasn’t tearing my hair out studying inorganic chemistry, I was blowing off steam by playing volleyball or cleaning the house I shared with three roommates.
So when he asked what I was doing, naturally I replied:
“Scrubbing my kitchen floor.”
He asked if he could come over and help.
Skeptical, I replied “ummm… sure.”
So he did, and he scrubbed more of that floor than I did, I’m sure.
Seven months later I married him.
So here you are, internet, a list of the shocking realities of our home:
- I drank coffee this morning, and it was delicious.
- I ate white bread last night, and now I’m regretting it.
- There is a pile of rinsed, but unwashed dishes in our kitchen.
- The counters are filthy.
- I haven’t vacuumed in a week.
- I didn’t finish all of my usual Sabbath preparation cleaning on Friday and it shows.
- Despite all of the above, I feel really refreshed after yesterday.
- A couple of months ago I nearly lost a finger in a terrifying blender incident.
- A couple of days before that a pyrex dish exploded in my oven, glass shards littered everywhere. To this day my toddler stops in his tracks when the oven makes a noise.
- A couple of days before that, the incident in the above picture occurred: I dropped a full 5 lb. container of local, raw honey. It shattered. Honey is really difficult to clean up, especially 5 lbs of it. Not surprisingly, my husband cleaned up most of it.
Thanks for that dose of reality! I have felt the same way you have about blogging being only a snapshot of what’s good in people’s lives, and it does lead to envy. Especially when I look at SouleMama’s blog! But reality is, we all have pretty good lives even with all the “not so good” stuff in there. Thanks for sharing your “moments”. Maybe I’ll post something like it soon…
okay, you are my new BFF : )
I’m sure you almost cried when that honey dropped. Last week I made a smoothie. When I thought I was taking it off the base of the blender – I was actually unscrewing the bottom. Smoothie everywhere – including on the dog!
Thank you again for another thoughtful blog post. I’m all about the “real”. The real deal, the real stuff – reality. Thank goodness, a new day is just that – a new day!
Even more, thank goodness for forgiveness. First and foremost, from our Father above then forgiveness of ourselves and forgiveness of others.
oh, your husband rocks!
Sounds very much like our house (well except for the blender incident–how terrifying that must have been!). Thanks for the honesty and humor–it’s such a pleasure to read your blog! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this. You are absolutely right about there being too little sharing of the real, raw stuff. I think I would have cried if I had dropped a 5lb jar of honey!
I think that is the saddest picture I’ve seen in awhile. LOL!
I must confess that I experience a *lot* of blog envy, especially when I read about women who are staying home and taking care of their kids. I really look forward to when it is my turn. I keep thinking there are things I should be doing now, while I don’t have children, that I will wish I had done after I have kids. Hindsight is always 20/20. If any of you mamas have advice, please pass it on.
I also want to note that exploding bakeware is what has prompted me to spend a small fortune on stainless steal and stoneware bakeware. I was tired of being scared of baking.
Thanks for sharing your reality. I too read dmoms post earlier today and also your comments. I too believe that the blog world is shared so that what we see is through rose colored glasses. I appreciate the real stuff though. Everyone has good and bad days, it’s just that the bad stuff is typically scarier to put out there on the internet for fear of what someone will think. Thanks for sharing.
great post! a wonderful reminder that I need to post more of the crazy stuff!!!
head over to my site to see a post inspired by you!
blessings!
I really feel refreshed reading this. I mean, I’ve only just sorta discovered blogging & am really learning SO much that I am so immensely grateful for… but I’ll admit to a more than small amount of ‘blog envy’. Mostly because I would love nothing more than to have more time IN MY HOME, I would do anything to be a SAHM, it simply isn’t in the cards right now. I feel as though I’m missing out on so many of the wonderful experiences that you (and so many other bloggers I’m following) talk about… it’s hard for me to make time for blogging (writing & reading them) when I get home from work at 6, have to make dinner & when? do I find time to clean & spend time with my husband & son???!!! Speaking of which… I’d better skidaddle! 😉
I will make one of my next posts similar to yours, to share the ‘real’ me… to be more transparent & open. Thanks for the inspiration!
When I was 3 or 4 years old I tried to push the Huge 5 lb honey jar acroos the table to my brother. He missed it. The crash woke up my mom. I remember hiding in the bushes for hours. I was so scared:)! I loved your post. I just wasted 4 chicken thighs trying out my new meat grinder. I didn’t clean it enough and some of the machine oil got all in the chicken. I could hae cried. I wanted to make sausage for the children for B fast:(
You are awesome. I LOVE this post. I could have written a very similar thing today!
I started with the links on Rachel‘s site today. And am working myself around to several links of real moments that connect from there. As I left in a comment on her site, I feel like we are all sharing a big online group hug! And the group is growing quickly!
I gasped when I saw this picture. I would have cried.
Best,
Sarah
PS – What a lovely husband! Mine doesn’t scrub the floors, but he does most of the dishes, even the green smoothie blender ones. 🙂
Sarah’s last blog post..Taco Casserole with Spanish Brown Rice
I dropped honey like that once… a big, local, raw honey. It shattered on the driveway outside and rolled down the hill. You know what i did? (after crying…) I dissolved the whole thing in a pot of hot water, and then strained it through fine mesh cheesecloth a few times. Then when the honey water cooled, I fermented it into mead. My husband was into making his own beer and wine in those days, and he was so proud of my creativity.
Thanks so much for sharing these moments with us! Most of us must suffer from blog-envy at least sometimes – I know I do!
You know just a couple weeks ago I saved up two quarts of raw cream in a jar and then proceeded to try and shake it into butter. Well, after a few minutes I got careless (lazy, bored, tired?) and dropped it on the floor. I not only lost two quarts of beautiful raw cream that was halfway to butter, but the towels I cleaned it up with still smell like old milk – after going through the washer several times (even with vinegar!). Yuck.
P.S. I sat down and bawled my eyes out when I spilled the cream. My kids thought something terrible had happened. 😛
Just found this now. Your hubby washed your floor? I would of married him too (but not really I’m rather in love with my man, but you know what I mean).
Makes me feel better about the gallon glass jar of milk that was dropped over here and shattered everywhere, wasting a precious gallon of raw milk!
aww…bummer about the honey- that is sad, and I would have cried…
I peeled and diced about 6 # of beets a few mos ago- my kids love them so I make lots for left over salads etc. I had them roasting in the oven with some coconut oil when my pyrex dish exploded too. I was so angry- hours of peeling and dicing all those beautiful beets and glass shards in all of them. I didn’t even dare compost them. What a waste! I found out from a friend that the newer pyrex glass bakeware is made in China ( I did go back and capitalize that, but not sure out of respect!) so the quality is not so great any more. If you see old pyrex at garage sales etc, snag it!
Great post! 🙂