Day 9: 31 Days of Blogging Honesty

 

 

 

 

Day # 9 Question:  If I could create my own personal Mt. Rushmore I would honor these four individuals…

Who would you put on the mount?

My own personal Mt. Rushmore would pay homage the four people whose unconditional love has made me the person that I am today. Because the real Mt. Rushmore is rather dull and anticlimactic, once you finally take the time to view it on Google Earth, I’m going to hire a few guys who know how to use a jackhammer to re-modify the current structure.

In place of George Washington’s face I would put my mother. Washington may have been the “father of our country”, but my mother was the “mother of me” and without her, I wouldn’t be had at work typing this blog, nor would I currently be any of the fabulous things that she taught me to be.

In place of Jefferson I would carve my oldest daughter. In a letter to James Madison, Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “A little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing…” Of course Jefferson was talking about rebellion being necessary for a sound government. In the case of my daughter, rebellion meant arguing nonstop with me from the ages of 11 to 17 and various hair colors, tattoos, and piercings. However, that rebellion was necessary for her to develop into the super amazing individual that she is today.

In place of Lincoln’s visage I would put my youngest daughter’s lovely image. Lincoln was a peacemaker, and was also well known for his impartiality and fairness. These are glowing attributes of my youngest’s personality. You will never meet a person more loving or accepting.

In place of Teddy Roosevelt, I would carve my husband. Mostly because Roosevelt is the dude with the glasses, and so is my hubby. My husband also claims to “speak softly and carry a big stick,” but I’ve actually never seen him carry any sort of stick. I’ve seen him toting a laptop, huge rolls of blueprints, and our gigantic cats. Since I’m already changing a major monument, I think I’ll change that quote to “Speak softly and carry a big cat,” making my husband’s face in place of Roosevelt’s the perfect choice.

Perhaps the most amazing feature of my new and improved Mt. Rushmore isn’t the image of my family that visitors to the monument will now see lovingly jackhammered before them. The most prolific image will be the fifth face; the face that will be visible when a photo of Mt. Rushmore is viewed from the side. Most of you have probably seen this image, and heard various conjectures as to who this fifth face belongs to.

Gabby Hayes? Is that you?

When the image of the new and improved Mt. Rushmore is turned to its side, viewers will be awed by the profile of none other than  awe inspiring, magnificent Oprah! 

 

I'm giving you allllll a newwww carrrrrr!!!

 Wishing a fantastic, productive Monday to all of my blogging buddies!

**Props must be given to Wikipedia for the Thomas Jefferson quote and information.

Ugh!

You know what drives me crazy? MOMMY BLOGS! They figuratively make me throw up a little in my mouth.  I seriously mean no disrespect to the moms who pour their heart out about Hunter’s first tooth, or who go into great pictorial and verbal detail about how they made whole grain, organic, sugar free, Omega 3 brain enhancing brownies with Chancellor and Summerly, BUT I have a hard time believing that life for every mommy blogger is so perfect.  Their blogs always have kitschy titles lie “Our Crazy Life” or “Living on the Edge with the O’Brian’s,” yet their pictures and words show and tell of trips to Disney Land; “girl time” with mommy, grandma, and aunt Jennifer; or their ski trip to Utah that must have cost more than my car.  Oh, to have a life so crazy and edgy!  When my kids were little, if I could have afforded a computer and digital camera, my mommy blog would have probably featured pictures of me pawning jewelry to pay for my daughter’s violin lessons; the kids plugged in to Barney videos so I could make dinner; or of me chatting to strange men on the computer at 2 am because that’s the only hour I could pencil in a little bit of “me time.”

 

 

 

        

    

Not a good mommy blog photo

 

I like honesty.  I value it, and respect people who are authentic.  Most mommy blogs will never feature a picture of a kid sitting in a super messy room, in his urine-soaked saggy diaper, with the frustrated post, “I’m so frigging tired; why I did I have this kid?” Yet the same woman who has taken a prize-worthy photo of little Conner frolicking in her perfectly landscaped tulip bed has had that exact same thought, at least once, if only for a split second, in the middle of a sleepless night.

Perfect mommy blogs make me suspicious. They scream to me that you must have a drunken uncle, that touches little boys, somewhere in the hidden depths of your perfect family, or that beyond the perfect pictures that you post there has to be a room in your house that looks exactly like an episode of Hoarders. Probably the biggest message that a mommy blog screams is “I’m perfect and you’re not!” My house is bigger.  My life is fuller, and my kid will grow up to be better than your kid will, simply because I’m so freaking perfect. I feel like these are the same women who judged me because I was a working mom, or who wouldn’t let their kid play with mine because we lived in an apartment. 

Some people LOVE mommy blogs.  The chortle and coo over the cute photos and clever lines. I’m glad for them, but what if I think real is more interesting?  Reading that” Cameron and Waverly went to the waterpark today with grandma and grandpa, so mommy and daddy could have a little face time” is totally dull compared to “ We shipped Cameron and Waverly off to the grandparents because their dad and I need to spend more time together.  He says I’m obsessed with the kids and I’m afraid he may cheat due to the fact that I can’t remember the last time we fucked.”  I can respect that. 

 

 

Also, something usually not featured on a respectable mommy blog.

 

Perhaps I’m jealous.  Perhaps I wish my life could be summed up neatly in 8 little squares like in the opening credits of the Brady Bunch.  Perhaps I wish that Photoshop, a little more money and free time could have made my kid’s childhood more magical.  Or perhaps I find perfection less interesting than the dirty gritty realities of authentic life.  The truth is that no one’s life is perfect, not even in Mommybloggerland. Perhaps I need to cool my jets and remember that editing is the magic of the blogosphere. I must remind myself that just beyond toothy smiles of a matching-shirt-family, perfectly positioned in front of Mount Rushmore, is a father who potentially looks at his secretary’s ass a little too longingly, a mother who might down a one too many glasses of white wine before the kids get off the bus, and a 14 year old girl who could possibly try pot for the first time at a sleepover next weekend.  Which would you rather read about, perfection or real life?