In Search of Normalcy

(Note of caution you may not like this blog)

Since I have a week off and a few moments to myself here and there-I have been using some time to try and find a few new blogs to follow. Surfing the web, seeing what is out there, reading some entries. Looking at which of the “mommy blogs” out there can provide me a fresh perspective or a little laugh to start off my days well.

And I have to tell you-most of them horrify me, bore the crap out of me, or make me want to take these woman and strangle them in some cases. Nice eh? Just how you want to feel in your relaxation time right?

I think this morning alone I read 7 different blog entries about how the mom stayed up all night to knit her kid's mittens, or came up with 101 special places to hide the elf on the shelf, or baked from scratch bread because she wanted to impress her mother in law who was coming over for tea  and went on too add that anyone who does not make homade bread for their kids are depriving them.

And then there are the blogs where you can read about 12 posts in a row about how perfect the kids are, and how sweet they all act, and how they never ever fight, and how they just love each other so much and love doing homework and ticking off their chore charts.

Or all the mommy blogs with the smiling teens looking into the cameras dressed up as dinosaurs? I mean who is 16yrs and willingly wears a dinosaur costume to school because it is”dress up day”on the neighborhood  block, without having a gun to his head? And if he did do that…would he actually want it posted on his mommy’s blog???? Even me at 41 yrs think the kid looks like an uncool dork..imagine what his friends say?

So ya I am feeling a little bit pessimistic this morning as I try to seek out some “good blog literature” to keep my mind enlightened. Thank goodness I have 5-6 good ones I read already that I like.

And it takes me back to my first impressions of blogging in general “why oh why?”. Or what I still feel about Twitter entries like”I am am taking a shower now!” Good for you! Get a life! But as I got into blogging and started my own….I started really realizing the benefits and the fun and the joy that comes from having one and that comes from reading other blogs (the ones without teen dinosaurs in them clearly) .

But I am fully aware and fully supportive that there will be a lot of people out there wondering why they should bother reading my blog or anyone else’s blog for that matter and having that impression that us bloggers are self centered braggers who need a public lift.

And maybe we all are?

But I guess for me-if you are going to have a blog then at least make it (somewhat) real? Pretty please? If your kids are that amazing and it is true..go ahead and post it. Shout it off the rooftops-go ahead! But maybe give us even a tiny little dose of reality every so often-maybe every couple of days so we can fend off depression and not make us feel so inadequate in the mothering department?

And if you truly love spending your time writing out 101 reasons of the most original places to hide your elf on the shelf by doing such things as having it switch the clothes in your kids closets as a joke when they are sleeping ??(Is that actually fun for you??)…then honestly you might want to consider considering the way you spend your time. Sorry I am  being honest here. Seriously. I read a great post today critiqing this 101 elf idea blog that virtually went virile on the internet...and it might of been the funnist things I have read all year. Now that is uplifting! Bring it on. Added her to my favorites.

And sometimes as I sift through some of these mommy blogs I get the sense that in private these moms are pulling their hair out or on major doses of valium that they take in their closest secretly at nightpost after they have just spend the last hour debating at 3am how to give their kids a good chuckle (that will last for about 5 seconds) in the morning. Do we really have to try so hard as mommys? And if we do brag about that?

So yes I love blogs (the good ones anyways) and I also secretly hate them in some ways too. I feel happy at times that I have one and a sense of pride and also a keen understanding that many people out there think my blog and many others out there are self centered, boring and somewhat bragging. I get it..I accept it..and I understand it. I get why half of my family won’t go anywhere near my blog or anyone else’s for that matter.

And despite it all I still love writing blogs and still love reading them. It does something for me at my very core and more than often makes with me  stop and ponder what I like what I don’t like, what sits well with me and what drives me a bit nutty. And it is interesting to stop and take notice of why certain blogs bother me and other ones delight me. It’s interesting to stop and analyze it all and take notice of the reactions inside of us isn’t it?

Today I asked myself as I sifted through the mommy blogs-am me jealous of this woman who has time to bake from scratch, and make lists of elf spots and write down every minute of their child’s development? And the answer is no I am not. I am just in awe that anyone who is recording their lives would want to leave out on a daily basis any type of reality. It seems like an unfair document no?  And I am not convinced that her life is all rose colored and peachy all day long with seven kids under her roof. And what comes to mind is often:

Life is not (only) a bowl of cherries girl. Let a little mold on the cheese in and see where it takes you. You might just like it!

PS-Tomorrow I will be back to a better me ok? And the hypocrite in me will brag a bit about my adorable kids, update you on my choice of showergel and post a few humiliatin pics of my teens? (for real)
If you are really lucky will post my recipe for homeade bread (never!)