Trips Are Not Always As They Appear on Facebook…
So if I shared you the following pictures on my Facebook page, you might think, “Wow. What a fun camping trip. Look at those boys always getting along. That’s just lovely.”
And that’s how it was {MOST} of the time. There were hotdogs around the fire, fun games of ladder ball, fishing, and playing in the sand. But what didn’t I take pictures of?
My meltdown after not sleeping, feeling dirty, tired of peeing with scary bugs and used feminine products, and just wanting my own bed.
The boys having a rough night staying in the camper for bedtime and not being able to comply.
A most likely rash decision to pack up when we were frustrated with camping at 10:30 at night in the dark.
Boys both crying and cheering that we were going home.
A broken wheel well that we didn’t realize until we went to move the camper.
Brad pulling off the tire in the middle of the camp sight driveway at 11:30, and all of us praying in the van that he would be able to fix it.
Rolling in at 1:30 in the morning and crawling into our beds exhausted and wondering if we’re really cut out for camping.
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Oh Friends, vacations, trips, and lives are not always as it appears on your Facebook feed for any of us. Trust me, you didn’t want to see pictures of the bathhouse on your screens. We often don’t see the mess and the meltdowns, only the highlights. Let’s not forget that there’s a behind the scenes that we arenotl intimately involved in day in and day out. We all struggle, we forget, we clean up messes, we fall down, we get hurt, we mess up – and then we get up and do it all over again. Hopefully at the end of the day the good outweighs the bad and we wake up with amnesia of yesterday’s imperfections.
The problem lies when we start comparing our low-light reels to everyone else’s highlight reels.
Let’s embrace the goodness of this life we’ve been given and how 4tunate we truly are today. Let’s be good with our highlights and be able to chuckle at some of unphotoshopped moments. There are gifts to be found even in the not so picturesque moments – don’t let comparison steal the joys of what you’ve been entrusted.
Very well written and oh so true. I just got back from a vacation to Florida with daughter, SIL, and 16 month old – son, DIL and 2 year old. I couldn’t wait to go on vacation with this babies and experience the beach like we did with my parents when our children were litte…….boy was my idealism destroyed! Two very different styles of parenting and the babies hated the ocean, one hated the sand, so a lot of time was spent around the pools and it was so crowded, we like a more secluded place. Anyway, I can look back now and remember the good which did outway the bad, but next year…..one family at a time! 🙂 Thanks for sharing and your boys are just precious and I know they are so well behaved! A friend in East Texas, Pam.
As the Murray Boys Grandma, I know i would be considered prejudiced but I know if you would choose to take 4 other boys randomly, and do the activities you do with your own boys and expect the same behavior, you would be amazed to realize how well behaved your own boys are.
Great post. None of us ever truly know what goes on behind the doors of another’s home, or as you so aptly said, “behind the scenes” of each family. So admire your wisdom and honesty. Your post also makes one ponder expectations!!!
Loved your post. I’ve have numerous Facebook friends comment that all I do is travel and have fun. I guess I’m guilty of only posting highlights and positive moments. I just figured everyone does the same. Who wants to know about all the trouble I have with my Rheumatoid Arthritis and the constant pain? All the days that I’m unable to leave my home do to unbearable pain and stiffness? I’m well grounded and have been around long enough to know the realities of life. I am concerned with those who’s posts are always negative and post only gloom. Is that what the majority of their life looks life!? I think I should be praying more for those people…
Continue to try camp outs! It’ll get better. We started when our oldest was only ten weeks old. We hardly ever go to a designated campground-we have a wall tent, and we usually bring/make our own restroom! We have a tent shower with a solar bag for hot water. I love to cook with my Dutch oven, using charcoal. Food always tastes better in the wilderness.
I agree with Grandma Myers. Your boys are amazing. I know you struggle at times but you have done such a good job. They are so good when gramma has them. Thanks for making being Gramma so much fun.
A very timely reminder as our Facebook and Instagram feeds are filled with pictures of summer fun. I thought of this exact topic as we were wrapping up our big trip to Spain. Yes, if you scanned through my photos you could envision the perfect family on the perfect vacation. And we did have an amazing trip that was full of memories. But we also had meltdowns, many moments when we snapped at each other, kids who pouted because they hated the food, kids who whined that they wanted to go back to the hotel and play on the iPad instead of walking one more minute in glorious cities they might not ever see again … in other words, REAL life. How awesome would it be if we could all be brave enough to post some of those photos now and then, or choose to not edit those parts out of the story that is the truth of life in a family? I think we need a hashtag for those very photos! Thanks for sharing, Jen.
I love this! This is so, so very true. I really need to work on it!
Awesome post and oh so true!