2 Feb 2015

Define No Filters

This blog post has taken me the best part of the day to get around to writing. I first started writing it at about 3am in my head, when Baby45 had mistaken my squishy post-baby body for a mattress. 

I guess, with this whole #nofilter thing, I didn't want it to turn into a humble brag type competition. You know....


As in, less effort makes you somehow better because you're trying less hard. That's not what I'm getting at. What I'm getting at is that we are and do judge people by their houses, their lifestyles, their looks, their parenting and their roles in life. That's normal. It's when social media is taking that to the next level, that means our perception of other people's lives is distorted by their filtered for public consumption version of it.

Lifestyle envy aka keeping up with the Joneses, has been around for a very long time and now social media makes that easy to do 24/7. Sitcoms like Friends and Sex and the City as well as reality TV shows don't help. "This is how you should be living - watch us do it better". Aspirational viewing is now not just on your TV screen, it's next door.

Frankly, I don't care about the state of my friends' houses. In fact I think you know when you're really good friends with someone because they don't clean up before you come over. They know that you know that they were up all night with the toddler, or have a work deadline, or a birthday or just frankly were too tired with the never-ending chore list (now that's a movie worth making) and couldn't summon up the effort.

The thing is, life isn't perfect, it's really messy and chaotic and disorganised and stuff hits you out of left field,  on top of all the regular every day shit you have to get on with. I mean as a child, I just had no idea how much paperwork and planning being an adult entailed. I thought you just got to eat sweets whenever you like. (and you can, but someone out there will tell you that you probably shouldn't all the same). 

It's easy to get distracted by feeling like having the perfect sitting room/outfit/latte/parenting craft morning equals the perfect life, but it's just not that way and I think it's a waste of energy because it's a Sisphyean task. We're never going to get there so we might as well just settle for what we've got and enjoy that - because even that may not last.

I realise this blog post is quite cliched, but I'm writing on the hoof and part of this means not editing and fussing too much and just getting used to writing regularly. Sorry for that.

So anyway, to the actual #nofilter moments in my life today?

- Baby45 wants to be potty trained, yeah he's leading this one not me. I don't really need to share all the gory details but I thought labour involved a lot of bodily fluids. I was wrong.
- Despite making soup, pasta bake and curry today and clearing up, my kitchen is a mess and I have no plan to do the washing up before I go to bed. Sorry. Not sorry.
- I haven't actually "done" my hair today. I woke up, it was in my face, I got it out of my face with an elastic. Good to go. Style just bite me.
- I'm growing a second chin out of my chin. Some of you may know this as a zit, but really, I'm expecting Rick Mayle to return from his adventures in the afterlife and start talking to me.
- Oh and the bins need emptying. Again.

Thank you and goodnight.

Stupidgirl has left the building

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