You are that mother.
You, right now, the mother wearing the shirt with stains on the shoulders, and your hair swept back, with the toddler on your hip in their pajamas and the preschooler watching Disney Jr. You, that mom, are the pinterest perfect real mom. You, the mother sitting at home while your 16 year old drives away, and the middle schooler works on homework, and you trying to balance a schedule that is much too full as you remember those days when they were little and loved Little People. You the tired, overwhelmed, joyful, nervous, worn-out, thankful, get-out-of-bed everyday mother.
You go on the Real Board.
That’s the board that shows how to make lunch when you only have cabinets that are bare and a fridge with just staple items. It’s the board that has pictures of the playroom with the toys not sorted, with books on the floor, and a curtain askew – but happy, smiling, content kids laughing in the background.
There’s a picture of you, the real mother, breathing deep and counting to ten and trying again and again and again.
There’s spilled milk. Cheerios on the floor. Toddlers crying. Paint projects dripping. Dinner cooking. Moms reading. Moms praying. Laundry drying. Phones ringing. Teenagers texting. Middlers sighing. Sand falling. Families hugging. Work piling. Words on love. Books on patience. And motherhood. And balancing. And grace.
The pinterest perfect real mom goes beyond the images, beyond the moments captured in just a snippet of time.
She’s there. She’s real. She’s you.
Giving. From sun up to sun down to sun up again. With mistakes made and I’m sorry’s shared and I love you’s and more. With grocery lists and kisses on the cheeks and hugs to make it better. With eyes to see the sweetness in today, in the moment, in the days that some day will become the days one looks back on with nostalgia.
Motherhood can be hard.
Rewarding, yet full of exhausting physical and mental work.  How in the world can you describe how frustrating it is when the milk spills all over the floor for the 15th time this week and how you can get so frustrated over such a seemingly simple little thing. And yet, yet there it is  – overwhelm, irritation, frustration, exhaustion, worry, and yet trying again. There should be a board celebrating the mom who kept her cool as she wiped up that milk, and patted the toddler on the head, and then went up in the bathroom, and shut the door, let out just a little cry, brushed the tears away, and then came back stairs and started up again.
That deserves to be pinned.
Let’s not lose site of the beauty in the perfect of the everyday real. Let’s learn from the boards, inspire ourselves, grow, and create. But, let’s also remember, it’s just a pin. Just an image. Just an idea.
Sometimes we lose sight of the power of real.
Or the beauty.
You, the mother in the trenches, are the pinterest perfect real mother.
Not for the extraordinary – but for the ordinary. Because sometimes the fails and tries and attempts and embracing of where you are now is one of the most outstanding things. Don’t forget that in a world of shoulds and coulds.
Your day, and all you do, is beautifully amazing.
And it? It’s repinned every single day.
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Want to read more real?
Read The Mom Confession to find out why I’m okay with boxed macaroni and cheese. And more.
28 comments
i love your blog and i love your heart. i wish we lived close so i could come watch you be a Christ-following mommy and glean wisdom in person. thanks for reminding me why i am so excited about having more children and watch them grow. that’s definitely on the real board also.
What a beautiful and true post! Thanks, Rachel!
Perfect post. The end.
Loved this. Thanks!
thank you.
I often forget how much we do as Mums, how little we let ourselves breath.
I needed this today – a serendipitous pin.
x
“Where’s the board celebrating the mom who kept her cool as she wiped up that milk…?” Wow. That was the part that made the tears well up. You are such a tremendous encouragement to me as a mother. Thank you for such thoughtful words. I’ll be sharing this on my Facebook. 🙂
Thank you for this, from one Mama in the trenches to another.
Although its been many years since I was in the trenches as so many of you are, I can still remember those self defeating thoughts, exhausted body and too many more hours on the clock to stop, and yet so many precious memories that still bring a smile to my face after all these years. Thank you for letting God use you over and over to bring insight, sympathy, and encouragement to so many struggling mommies.
Oh my goodness. ::tears:: Needed this encouragement. Seriously flipped over spilled milk-yesterday. And had to apologize for said flip out. This is the real deal & it is hard but it is so, so good.
Every once in a while a blogger, and in this case and blogging momma, hits the nail on the proverbial head. This was fantastic. Thank you. Motherhood is complicated, to say the very least. This speaks to the moms out there that they aren’t alone.
Thank you. Just thank you.
such good stuff. You go, Mama.
What a beautiful, REAL, from the heart post. Beautiful pictures, beautiful post, beautiful Mama.
Amen, Amen and Amen. Thank you.
How did you know I have spots on my shoulder?! I don’t even know what it is! ;o)
Keep your eyes on the Lord! Praying!
2 Samuel 22:2-3, 7 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. (7) In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
My email address
Thank you for this in a week of spilt milk, 1st dentist appiontments for a 2 yr old and a house that might never get clean. When all is said and done i am grateful for the opportunity to be a mother.
I love this post! So inspirational. I love pinterest but sometimes it can really get you down seeing how much everyone else seems to achieve. At the end of the day it´s not a real portrayal of life, it´s people showing their version of perfect and not being honest about what things really look like.
Loving your post. Having a little cry now at 1am and then I’ll get to bed and wake up tomorrow and continue to be that perfect mom 🙂
Thank you
XO
Thank you so much for your beautiful mummy posts. Knowing we are “enough” is the hardest of all on those days when you feel like you’ve not even taken a breath by bedtime… But your writing is like listening to a best friend giving honest, warm words of encouragement. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
This is the cold hard truth of motherhood and you hit the nail smack dab on the head. Thank you for putting in words what my life and every other mother’s life is like in the real world! I thought I was the only one who went into the bathroom to cry every now and then! I dare a man try to live a day in our shoes. They would be waving the white flag in just one hour.
Thank you, thank you for this post! Made me tear up!
From one exhausted mother to another.
Thank you…. And things like this do get pinned to a board for me to go back and look at when I’m having a hard day. Thank you.
And it’s a post like this that truly makes me want to behave better. Clean up messes without shouting, using the soft answers, be there when the kids really need it and knowing when that is. It is my job, my gift, to mother my children. I need to make it my job to do it more peacefully. period.
Really very good post, Thanks for the information.
Beautiful. Real. Thank you.
Rachel, thank you so much for your encouraging words of everyday. You help me to try to be a better mom, a real mom. Your words from the heart and experience. I have five little blessings that keep me busy at home. May God bless you always. You make me remember that motherhood matters and keep me going. I can’t thank you enough.
Didn’t you know that old saying “Don’t cry over spilt milk.” was directed not at the child but at us tired, overwhelmed moms??? This was a beautiful and honest post and I so appreciate that.
LOVE this and thank u…your blog posts get me through the day
Hey, how did you know my shirt was stained, my hair was up and my preschooler was watching Disney Jr.? Ha! Loving your blog. I needed the motherhood encouragement.