Well, that was a much needed break. I opened my laptop only a handful of times and posted nothing to Instagram for nearly a month. I didn’t delete the app on my phone but probably should have. (I’m still trying to get out of the habit of mindless scrolling or story-watching things I could care less about.) I know I should probably be telling you to like, comment and buy more, but if you need the least bit of encouragement, I would highly recommend taking your own break for a week–or even a day. Guess what? Nobody thinks about you or what you’re doing as much as you do. ;)
Everything is just so calculated these days. Everything–and I do mean everything— is an event to be glamorized. Cookie making, coffee drinking, working out, eating dinner, building a snowman, nail painting, cleaning out a drawer, buying new shoes, taking your kid to the library, feeding your kid a snack, holding them when they’re sick. . . It makes me weary to watch other people living sometimes. It’s not that these aren’t good things but sometimes, they’re just moments meant to be lived and not staged or documented. And, I openly admit I’m guilty of instantly captioning a moment in my head as it’s happening instead of enjoying it. Why? Why do we do this? I kind of hate that this is how my brain has become conditioned when it’s amazingly good to look up at real life all around you.
It’s also tough to teach our kids these things when we’re guilty of it ourselves. Man, this is a tough time to be a mom. And for that matter, a tough time to be a teenager. For all of the good that technology brings, I would gladly throw all of our phones out the window for a chance to raise my kids like it’s 1984 again. I would love to give them the pleasure of not knowing what everybody else is doing 24/7. (Before I get a ton of comments, we do have technology rules and it’s pretty easy to for a Clark kid to get their phone taken away, but still, the pressure is there. I can feel it and I know they do, too.) As far as my younger kids go, I can’t tell you the number of times they’ve looked over my shoulder and asked “whose baby is that?” or “who’s that kid?” Sadly, my response should be something like “I have absolutely NO IDEA. Just some stranger whose pictures I’m looking at instead of looking at you.” Yikes.
Then there’s the other side of the coin where I feel compelled to post a pretty picture almost every day–since that’s what I do. To be honest with you, I feel like I’ve outgrown the rat race of self promotion that’s required when you’re a full-time blogger or influencer (I hate that word, by the way). But, blogging without a social media push isn’t really an option anymore, and I get it. Everybody’s phones are attached to their hands so if you’re going to be seen. . . I guess my plan is to do my own thing with blinders on as much as possible, post what I have and ignore everything else if I can. I know I sound like an old lady complaining about the good old days, but I do miss the general enthusiasm for painting a lamp or changing up a gallery wall and sharing it via some grainy photos in a blog post with the no professional lighting and no posing in an outfit that color coordinates with your room.
On a more positive note, Spring is here, everything is blooming, and I am feeling refreshed after taking some time off.
How is social media treating you these days? Do you take regular breaks?
