Confessions of a Pinterest Parent

Confession: I love me some Pinterest!  A one-stop place to peruse beautiful pictures of food, homes, clothes, crafts…with links to tutorials and websites where you can explore more?! What’s not to love?!

But, you have to admit that Pinterest (along with all social media) has really changed the way we parent. And maybe not always for the better. (Because now we know how other people parent — and compare ourselves to them? Because we’re on information overload and can’t make a confident decision? Because technology sucks up large amounts of the precious time we have each day? All of the above?)

…I mean, look at it this way: When I was a kid, it was pretty dang impressive to us if my mom made Kool Aide. (And that is not a dig at my mom. We loved that stuff!) Now, we feel like we’re not the world’s best mom if we don’t make organic baby food from scratch? And our baby’s wardrobe? And home school our four-year-old? All while looking trendy and put-together all the time?
 
The information age is a blessing when you need information. Not so much when you were just logging on to find that crock pot recipe, and now you feel like crap because you didn’t hand-make your kids’ halloween costumes this year.

So. Let’s relax for a second and keep it real.

From one Pinner to another, here are some real-life confessions:

Confession #1) I have 1,199 things pinned.

Confession #2) I have actually tried about twenty of them.

Confession #3) I have actually succeeded at maybe two of them. 

Confession #4) My three-year-old’s room currently looks like this:

 

Confession #5) Most of the time, I look like this:

(Prepare to cringe…) 

That exact face.

…Why, yes, that is a giant pile of unfolded laundry behind me.

And yes, that is actual crayon on the wall back there.

And…yep…unfortunately there are – count em’ – not one, but two honkin red zits on my un-made-up face. Don’t hate.

Confession # 6) All three of my children were formula-fed and jar-food-fed babies. (Not even organic. Gasp!) They are still alive. And smart. And adorable. And I know they’ll make it to at least 28 years old, because nobody thought, “breast is best” in the 80s, and I’m still here.

Confession #7) I have a bread machine, with which I have made homemade bread all of one time. 

Confession #8) I have a bunch of home-made, natural remedies pinned to my health board, which I love, because I like to keep it as natural as possible around here most of the time. Meanwhile, my two-year-old once stole and drank a half bottle of children’s ibuprofen. 
(Don’t worry, we called Poison Control. She’s still alive.)

Confession #9) I don’t even know how many hours a day my children watch TV. (Some days, we don’t watch any TV at all. Some days, we watch a lot of TV. Either way, they’re still alive, well-behaved, and their brains haven’t turned into mush yet.)

Confession #10) In my pantry, there are a few cans of organic diced tomatoes, some bags of organic dried beans and lentils, …and a whole truckload of non-organic, chemical-laden, processed-out-the-booty, takes-30-seconds-to-heat-up-and-put-on-the-table, cans of Beefaroni.

Confession #11) Sometimes I cook heathy dinners from scratch. Sometimes I do my hair and makeup. Sometimes I crochet cute little baby hats. Sometimes I deep clean. Sometimes I sit down at the table and do a crafty, educational project with my kids.

…..I have neverdone all of those things in the same day.

I don’t even think I have ever done all of those things in the same week.

I could go on and on and on confessing. 

Why am I telling you all of this?

Because just like everybody else, my Facebook page has cute pictures of my smiling kids with their hair combed, and a photo album of crafts that I’ve made and things that I’ve done with my children over the years. (I mean, who’s going to post a picture of themselves in their pajamas saying, “I’ve had a really crappy day, I’m eating my second twix bar, And this is how rough I’m looking.”  Not me!)

…Ladies, STOP measuring your life by Facebook and Pinterest, and STOP COMPARING YOURSELVES to other women!

Your Facebook friends don’t know your whole life history. Your upbringing. Your values. Your experiences, good bad and ugly. Your skill set. Your facebook friends don’t know your heart. All of these things, and more, contribute to who you are, and how you parent, for better or for worse!

Do you know who does know all of these things about you? 

The God who created you. El Roi (The God Who Sees.) Jehovah Jireh (The God Who Provides.) 

At the end of the day, He doesn’t care what you hand-made your kids. He doesn’t even care how much TV they watched. At the end of the day, He knows you, and He loves you, and He loves your kids. 

At the end of the day, regardless of what you’ve accomplished, if you have done your best to teach your children to know Jesus. To know love. To know mercy and grace. To know responsibility and to respect authority. To know joy. You have had a good day! 

I have to remind myself of this every day, because at the end of every day, my to-do list — let alone my pinterest-inspired, wish-I-could-do list — remains uncompleted, and I am tempted to think of myself as a failure.

…Just love your kids. Keep it real. Picture my rough lookin’ face, and remember that you’re not the only one out there who didn’t manage to ___ fill in your favorite pin here ___ today. 😉 

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