Best Shot Monday: Because Sometimes You Just Need to Hold a Puppy....

Harry_A184560

Meet Harry. Of course, he really didn't need a glamour shot because puppies are always adopted quickly, but sometimes you just need to hold a puppy, you know?  I've been in one of those states for about six weeks now.  I try to teach my girls about social media and remind them that all that perfection they see on Instagram is not real ... those people have real challenges, too, just like everyone else. 

Mamas fall prey to this sort of this thing, too, though for me, it's not so much social media comparison of my life that gets me. I think I feel that part more in real life than I do on social media. Some days, I know I just can't keep up! I don't spend a whole lot of time on Facebook - I have a few of my favorites set to see first, and then I get out of there ... so much negativity at times. And even though I usually try to just keep doing "me" and try not to worry about keeping up with everyone else, there are those days when the overwhelm hits and you - I - wonder how those "other moms" do it. (And then because you are so run down trying to keep up, you get the flu ... but that's a whole other story ...)

I try to remind myself that I'm juggling a whole heck of a lot, but I'll admit to getting a little jealous of mamas who don't work a full-time job outside of the home (though, yes, I know, those mamas have their own challenges, too .... I'm not trying to start a battle here ...). But we still try to do it all though, don't we? And heck, I'm 53 years old, quite a few years older than most moms with kids my age. I should know better! We're supposed to be older and wiser, right?!  Model by example, right?  I want my girls to strive to be their best and I want to be a role model, but sometimes I don't want to them to try to do everything I do. They don't need to hold down a full-time career, run a part-time creative small business, and hold down two volunteer gigs, on top of being be a mama and wife. It's funny though - my extras (my volunteer gigs and my creative endeavors) are what make me the happiest. The full-time career just pays the bills! So maybe that's another lesson to teach them?  Finding a career that doesn't feel like work is a magical thing ... I know I had something very close to that when I was still working on campus.

So back to that puppy ... which I get to play with through one of those volunteer gigs I love. Sometimes we all have those days, don't we? I admit that sometimes I get a little frustrated with people who come into the shelter who are clearly there just to play with dogs because they take volunteers away from those people who are there to really adopt, but now that I think about it, I get it. Sometimes you just need to hold a puppy ... they kinda make you feel like everything is going to be all right. We all need that every now and then, don't we?    

No comments: