I remember from a young age scrambling to clean up the house before company came. Mom would be making the food and we girls were at her disposal to help out by vacuuming or whatever else was out of order before the guests arrived. (We were usually the ones that made the mess so it was well deserved that we help clean)
As Adam and I have been getting settled in to our apartment the opportunity for us to host was upon us and flashbacks to helping Mom was coming to mind. Laundry wasn't done so I deemed the laundry room as our "junk room" and shut the door to the mess right before the couple came.
As time passed with the couple we began to talk about "lived in houses" and the fact that they are never sparkling like our Pinterest walls may suggest. This particular couple was the type that you just love right away (example, if I had fallen on my face they wouldn't make it awkward but would laugh along with you.. that type of thing) and to be honest, I felt like a fraud. Here I was talking along about messes while all they saw were washed floors and prepared dessert that I had ready on a plate. I should have had a big tattoo naming me, "HYPOCRITE" as I laughed along. So I did the big no no of the times. I stopped the conversation and moved everyone to the laundry room. I wanted them to see that we weren't put together, and though I am sure they already knew this, there was something so freeing in being honest and real with such a menial thing. I knew that these people would most likely not care about the state of my laundry room.. but I cared about their perception of what they saw.You see, the laundry room doesn't matter in the long run, but I am realizing more and more that we live in a world full of great perception warpers. Just give yourself a glance at Facebook, Instagram, our closets even! We show the highlights by making statuses that uplift our lives so that others admire. We delete photos of ourselves that are unflattering so that people only see our best angles. We stand on chairs to take a picture of the only thing we have ever eaten that has kale in it in months (kale is so bland... do people really like eating it? ) and hashtag it #eatinghealthy #lost20pounds practically hitting the like button for other people. I have actually gotten people messaging me before asking me to like their instagram photos... I mean, come on right?!
I mean, I get it...It's hard to stop my fingers from rearranging my coffee cup to get the best angle for my instagram but I just don't want to be a liar or doing things to get other people's approval. I can and will live my life with a less than Pinterest worthy birthday party or less than on fleek eyebrows. I hope that as friends we can together get along just fine without having my laundry room closed but rather open knowing that we all have our imperfections..
Soon to be folding a hamper full of laundry,
Your Hippy,
Summer
"And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”"- Luke 12:15
Love it SumSum!
ReplyDeleteMiss you!