The wind has been taken out of my sails a little in regard to this blog. But I hope I will get it back. But I think this week I’m going to reflect a little and take a break.
I saw this quote yesterday and wanted to share.
Since I mostly blog about my hard moments I found this very applicable. My bad days do not define who I am. Instead I write to learn from them. But the bad days do not mean I do not love my life. I am extremely blessed and I know it. This blog does not define who I am either. I am a whole person that has ups and downs. The downs are not me. The bad days are not my entire life either.
For all of the people who are chastising you for “whining”, know that there are more of us out there who are resonating with what you write and are thankful to know that we are not alone. Enjoy your break. We will be waiting here for you when you get back:)
I ditto what miamamma35 said. 🙂
Definitely miamamma35! This was amazing for me to find your blog, to hear your honesty and reflection and processing of life. That takes work and courage. You will always have people complain. Love getting your blog posts in my email inbox.
I totally get it. It’s healthy to write about the bumps in the road. They help us further enjoy the beauty. And yes, it does help others to know they’re not alone. Your honesty is appreciated!
I think the best thing I learned from my counseling program was the word AND. Something can be really fucking hard AND a good life, too. Too many people make it an either/or thing like oh, she’s complaining about this, she must have a sucky life. No, my life is hard AND good. And right now I’m blogging about how hard it is.
Like everyone else has said, I’m in that category that finds comfort in knowing that someone else is dealing with similar problems and not perky all the time. I find you more relatable because it’s not always sunshine and roses. Write what YOU feel and screw those other people! Hope you’re okay. 🙂
You know how I feel about this topic. What you do is so hard…opening up and putting yourself out there takes courage and sometimes we have to defend that. We shouldn’t, but we do. I hate that people are making you feel as though you are “complaining” because you aren’t. You are being real and honest and tangible to other parents out there that feel all of the same pressures that you do and letting them know that it is okay to feel the way that they do.
I know you inspire so many, Meridith, so take your break but know that what you do brings hope to others. That is more important any day than making people that know you believe something that isn’t true. Be you, you’re great.
I think you have tremendous courage to write the truth and be honest about the thousands of things we all, as mothers/fathers, feel every day in our lives. You just have a great way of writing about it and there isn’t one person out there who doesn’t complain about something going on in their lives. We all do it and no one is perfect or has a perfect life. To criticize anyone for how someone expresses their feelings has a lot more issues than what you write about. Time for them to look at themselves and stop judging and if they are truly people of faith, they should go back to their teachings and help their fellow man than chastise them. Long ago when people had families, they all lived close to each other, helped each other out but in today’s world, we sometimes live far from our families and have no help to raise our kids which is so hard to do alone some days. Or we are so consumed in our own lives that we don’t make the effort to help a family member. In these instances, instead of coming down on someone we should reach out even with a simple message to say “I hear ya and I wish I could help when times are tough”. Just because someone is family, does not mean you HAVE to have them in your life if they are negative. Life is too short to deal with mean people. You keep doing what you do…the world needs people like you!
Love this quote! I think I may hang it up in my house. I know I could benefit from reading it every once in a while. I think it is also a concept I want to instill in my children.
You are not alone. We stand by your side and feel your frustrations. We all need to step back and breathe sometimes. “You’re a good mom!”