whaaaat? i'm not cool???

The other day I was riding home from the gym with one of my girls. It was a gorgeous day...the sun was beaming and the temp was perfect. When the weather is like that, it becomes a roll-down-the-windows-open-up-the-sunroof-and-crank-up-the-tunes kind of day. There we were, cruising down the road, wind in our hair, singing and dancing (well...car dancing). That's when one of those grand moments happened!

THIS song comes on the radio!!! (sorry, had to use this video, the real one was a little too racy!)



I turned up the volume just a little more and converted back to the 80's. My daughter says, "This song is so cool." What? Did she really say that? I was thrilled! So, I went all out on the volume and began an equally all-out sing along (the only thing that could have made the moment better would have been a big round hairbrush to use as my microphone!) There I was... smiling, singing, dancing and being such a cool mom who knew a "cool" song. Then it happened.

"Uh...mom? How do you know the words to that song? I haven't even heard it before." Me, still being cool like I am, let her in on the secret..."Honey, this is a song from when I was a teen. It was a hit back then. Don't you just love it?"

Ok, you know the scenes in movies and tv shows where they suddenly scratch the music and it comes to a halt? Mmmmhmmmm....you're catching on. This would be the moment that would have happened if this were a scene out of a movie.

In pipes my daughter's horrified comment, "Oh. My. Gosh. Mom, quit singing this song. Ewww. It is NOT cool." Huh? Are you kidding me? Wait, you just said it was cool. I am cool and I sing cool songs, so I am confused. I ask, "If I had not told you it was one of my teen songs, would you still think it was cool?" and I got an honest answer, "Yes. And you knowing the song makes it even more uncool". WHAAAAAT????? I AM COOL, DANG IT. What does this kid know about being cool???

Funny, I am soooo "uncool", yet they listen to my 80's music. They wear shirts off the shoulder- a la Flash Dance style. They are now wearing neon colors. Hello? Anyone notice LEGGINGS??? I mean, really? Me, not cool?

I think, deep down, they know I am cool. They just don't want me to take pleasure in KNOWING I am cool. Right?.....Hello?......Right?

what's real?

We go to a lot of trouble to hide what we really look like, don't we? Use my two pictures as examples. The picture on the left is with my glasses and not a stitch of makeup. The picture on the right was a headshot... hair fixed, the right lighting, the right tilt of the head, and obviously with makeup (please tell me you notice I have makeup on!).

That is not the only way we hide what we really look like. Surprising to some, but not to me, many women show up at church every Sunday in their very best. Everyone around them thinks all is glorious and without struggles. I was the same way. I'd walk in the church doors with a smile on my face, and it appeared everything was perfect (nevermind the fact I just threatened to harm my children on the way to church). But in reality we are all messed up in some way and beneath the surface things aren't as rosy as they seem. And we are terrified someone might find this out.

If you look long at facebook, you can tell no difference there either. Everyone puts out the image they want others to perceive. When we look at our friends' profiles, we think they are living the good life. Everything is wonderful. Well, of course it is! That is how they want you to view them. Putting your best foot forward isn't necessarily wrong. What is wrong is the fact that we begin to compare our lives to theirs. We start to think, "why isn't my life that wonderful?" or "why aren't my kids that trophy worthy?" or "why isn't my husband/wife that caring?". We begin comparing our homes, our bodies, our vacations...nothing is left out.

People! Don't get caught in this trap. We ALL have problems. We ALL have difficulties. We ALL are not perfect. Life is hard. There are twists and turns from day to day. Sometimes life is going great. But sometimes it's not. Trials come. Some pains are brought on by others. And some are brought on by ourselves. I can testify that I have been deeply hurt by others, and on the same hand, I have been guilty of contributing to the pain of another.

How do we break free from this trap? By being honest. Taking off our masks. No, I am certainly not suggesting that you "air out your dirty laundry" to everybody and heavens, not on facebook! Just stop pretending to be perfect. Stop pretending that if you are a good christian, life is perfect. Stop pretending that your spouse is perfect. Stop pretending that your kids are perfect. Just stop pretending.

By the way, this is why I'm letting go of many facebook friends. I just want to be myself. No judging me. I don't want people to know my business just for the sake of them thinking themselves more wonderful if they think I have problems. I want people to know I am not perfect for the sake of helping them to know they are normal.

If you are a fellow struggler and need a listening ear, email me or call me. We can even meet up for lunch. As long as it's not some perfect, dainty salad and water.

Now, hop over to facebook and check out my "perfect" vacation pictures (wink).

sneak peek

Some of you have been asking, "where have you been?". Right now I am enjoying some time with my Mom and Dad, coming home tomorrow night.

But, yes, I have been doing a lot of traveling lately. I honestly love to travel.

I still have so many photo's to go through. (Geesh, people, you will have to give me more time!) I have been busy lately. I will get an album on Facebook from my "Out West" trip soon and Alabama trip. I think all the others have already been posted.

And, before you ask, yes- I will do a couple of posts from the trips as well. :)

The photo above was taken somewhere over Texas from when I went to Arizona. Here is another sneak peek from my travels...

friday's here and i'm feelin' good!

Hey ya'll! It's Friday and I'm feelin' good! The sun is out and the weather is warm. That tells me to hang on 'cause summer is almost officially here.

I'm leaving tomorrow for a trip, so to get my trip started out right....how about some music.

Lovin' some Mercy Me...lovin' Footloose...and lovin' to dance. These guys are doing fun just right... Enjoy!

Here's another fun song. What's not to like about Rascal Flatts and some throwback memories?

Hope your Friday is awesome! Gotta go pack.... Love ya'll!!