Keepin' It Real Friday: Some People Just Rub You the Wrong Way

 Update!!! Ever since my last blog entry, I have had a very calm AND FUN week with my kids. They have been well-behaved, cuddly, sweet and a joy to be around. I still stand by every word I wrote because let's face it, being a mom is hard, and not every week is like this.
 But it is definitely rewarding!  

MOST of my friends have been very humorous this last week as they've tagged me in their posts in order to inform me that they're keeping it real. I thank you for that. It's fun to read. Some others have gone OVER THE TOP with their positive-ness in the opposite direction (I'm sure just to prove a point), but whatever, I don't have time to deal with that. 

Dishonesty is transparent.

WHICH....  brings me to my next "Keepin' It Real" entry:

#2 Some People Just Rub You the Wrong Way 

 Almost eight years ago, my husband and I decided we wanted to marry each other. I was the one for him, and he was the one for me. (Awwwwwww....) It was a pretty awesome day (considering the fact that that was the first time I actually dropped the "L-Bomb" too). BIG day! 

It was that same day that Bryan asked me a very important question that I'll never forget. 

"Do you promise to always be right by my side serving others?"

I said, "Of course!" 

Now, I will keep it real. A part of me said that just cause I didn't want to lose him. I mean, what did he mean by ALWAYS serving others? Was I going to be giving up my coveted husband/wife time to clean someone's house after they've moved? I don't even want to clean my OWN house, let alone someone else's! So get real... that wasn't really going to happen. 

However, I do REALLY enjoy helping people, so I thought, 

"Yeah. I can do that." 
 

And then, it happened. The beginning of our service journey.

  
We have been so happy ever since we met each other. And 

I REALLY AM BEING REAL!

Anyone who really knows us, knows that we truly have a wonderful relationship and love each other dearly.   

 Sure... we have our disagreements. I go through nights that I give him the silent treatment while he's completely confused. But we are completely and utterly happy. There has never been a day that I have woken up beside him wondering what I got myself into.  

Want to know the secret? Hahaha! I know we've only been married 7 1/2 years, and many more trials are to come, 

but I know what's keeping us happy. And that is... 

We both LOOOOOVE to serve.

I really give most credit to my amazing (hot) husband who would literally take his shirt off his back for anyone.

Heck, he'd take my shirt off too. (In a completely non-sexual way)  

LITERALLY,  

He puts anything and anyone before himself on the priority list.

He has been that way for as long as his mom can remember. And I have never seen him to act any differently. If you really know my husband, you know I'm speaking the truth.

I have always had a very sensitive heart. (Many of you may be laughing as you read that). BUT, I mean in the sense that I am VERY aware of those who are less fortunate than I. My parents raised me in a home where I learned excellent work ethic, and used it to help others in need. 

I never came anywhere near as selfless as Bryan... 

until recently. 

 Service has become second nature to Bryan and I. We look and pray for service opportunities on a daily basis. Sometimes we find them, sometimes we don't. 

The days that we don't... we're not REALLY looking,  

because the opportunities ARE out there..   

Where is she going with this?

Here it is:

I WISH EVERYONE KNEW

that real service is the key to happiness. 

Not the service that helps you save face. 

Not the service that is convenient to you. 

The service that truly makes you sacrifice.

The service that IS NOT convenient, but needed. 

So, why is this blog entry entitled 

"Some People Just Rub You the Wrong Way?"  

Because I CAN'T STAND people who only serve when it is convenient to them, or only when it makes them look good. It drives me up the wall! 

This is why I stated at the beginning of this entry:

  
Dishonesty is transparent. 

I want you to know that you are not fooling anyone if you're not serving out of love. People WILL read right through it. 

 I mean... I am constantly in shock, AWE, jaw is dropped open with the amount of hypocrisy I see on the give/take scale. I HATE doing something for someone only to see them ungrateful, selfish, asking for more, and not "Paying It Forward."
 

Let It Be Known! I am "Keepin' It Real"

This is what I REALLY want to say to you when you are being selfish. 

   

• "I have children too. Guaranteed one of them has lost sleep because I decided to help you out."
• "I'm sick of working around your schedule. Time you worked around mine."
• "I'm sorry. I didn't know my life revolved around yours."
• "I didn't get the memo that your family was more important than mine."
• "Oooooh... ouch. Sorry. I was unaware of how lucky I am to be your friend."  
• The list really goes on.  I invite all people out there to be real to themselves (myself included - I have been guilty before). 

Look inside, and tell yourself the REAL reason behind your service. 

   

"For of him unto whom much is given much is required" 

Doctrine and Covenants 82:3 (you can find this verse of scripture on lds.org) 

  Signing Off <3

Keepin' It Real Friday: "The Best Job in the World"

I'm BA-ACK!!!! 

And I'm Keepin' It Real...

Earlier today I was cleaning my house, and I thought to myself, 

"You know? Someone's got to tell it like it is!" 

That is what motivated me to get back on the blogging scene (which I really have missed, by the way), and THAT is what has motivated me to start the very first WEEKLY 

"Keepin' It Real Friday" blog entry.

#1 - "THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD"

So here's the story:

I'm sitting at my computer one evening, checkin' out facebook. Post after post after post from friends stating that THEY have "The Best Job in the World." What is that job? We can all chime in together and say it... A MOM! Pictures of my friends with their beloved angels, happy as can be. Pictures of kisses, funny faces, smiles, laughs, funny hats, cute babies, YOU NAME IT... it was there. The sheer

VOLUME 

 of these posts got me thinking...

(A couple months later):

I'm still reading these same kinds of posts over and over again until FINALLY I say out loud for Bryan to hear, "C'mon! Really??!!! No way do that many people really believe that being a mom is.... 'The Best Job in the World!' I mean, seriously... how can they really say that?" It's trying, it can be boring, it is exhausting, it's not glamorous, you get paid NOTHING, and you get told "No" all day long. How is that the best job ever?

I don't know about these people, but my idea of the best job in the world is one where I'm sipping Pina Coladas (virgin, of course) while at Disneyland. 

 You see, I don't know if that job exists, 

 BUT HEY! SIGN ME UP IF IT DOES!  

THAT'S the kind of job that would get me to wake up in the morning and say, 

"My gosh, I have the best job in the world." 

Call me crazy, but I don't say that sentence when I'm:

• Changing Diapers and wiping bums
• Up in the wee hours of the morning trying to get a wee little human to fall back asleep because of a) a nightmare, b) they're hungry/thirsty, c) they've got to go to the bathroom, d) the thunder scared them, e) "they're just not tired."
• Woken up in the morning by a scream and a whine for breakfast
• Dealing with temper tantrums
• Getting yelled at
• Getting kicked
• Getting sneezed on
• Not being listened to
• Breaking up a fight
• Getting pulled at
• Getting whined at
• Getting asked for money
• Trying to teach manners
• Listening to the attitude they have because they got put in time out
• Having things thrown at me
• Cleaning up ALL. DAY. LONG!

PALEEZE

Tell me you get the picture. The list really goes on and on. Being a mom is truly the HARDEST job I've ever had. And it's not really because of the above list, but it's mainly because you are the person who is responsible for the way they turn out as an adult... that's a lot of pressure! Just wait till your 

3 year-old starts dropping the F-bomb (in the CORRECT context, mind you). AND NO, HE DIDN'T LEARN IT FROM ME! You'll see what I'm talking about then. You have to discipline in a loving, but stern way. You have to make sure they know you mean business, but that they also know you love them more than words can describe. You have to give them choices, but not let them roam free. I'm learning all of this as a parent, yet they're still all under 5!!!! Just THINK of what I will have to learn when they hit puberty and get into their teenage years. Oh my....

 

Now, don't get me wrong... I love these three more than words can even describe. My life would not be the same without them, and my entire world would collapse around me if I lost one, but that doesn't mean that I would say that being their mom is the greatest, MOST WONDERFULLEST job ever! I will admit, it is probably the most rewarding job I've ever had. However, it also comes with the most exhaustion I've ever experienced too. 

Someone will argue, "But you didn't list all of the good things that happen as a mom! Those things are what makes it the best job in the world!" 

No need to. Check out FB. Everybody and their dog does it for me. THAT'S MY POINT!!! 

LET'S KEEP IT REAL! 

I mean... seriously, do we moms really wake up every morning thinking, "Yes! I get to do the same thing I did yesterday!" If you do, then more power to ya. You are better than I. 

This leads me to my last and final point - the pressure of social media. Why are we so scared to write how we are really feeling? Fear of argument? Rejection? Judgement? De-friending (heaven forbid)? Why am I expected to post that this is the best job in the world if I don't really feel like it is? 

Am I a bad mom because I don't think so? 

NO!

Quite frankly... I'm pretty dang good. ;)

But here's my point... Depression among women is sky high! We are so good at comparing ourselves to others that it has become ingrained in us. How can we out-do the other person, or worse... OH NO! THEY OUT-DID ME!!! Women know how to "fake it till they make it." We put on a happy face, tell everyone we are wonderful, judge EVERYONE who says life isn't perfect, and constantly post things on our statuses and blogs that will make others feel like our lives are heavenly. Well... I'm calling BLUFF!

I'm begging MOMS all over the world to help me out in "Keepin' it Real."

 Couldn't we solve so many more problems, as well as cultivate so many more friendships if we admitted that our lives weren't perfect? What if I looked at your perfect facebook page and thought to myself that there must be something wrong with me because I don't LOVE to play cars with my boy for three hours straight (IT'S TERRIBLE!!!! 5 minutes is my limit).

All I'm saying is this... Children are the Refiner's Fire. 

I am a better person now than I EVER would be without them. I was better with one than I was with none, better with two than with one, and now better with three than I was with two. However, I have been tested more and more with each one as well (and I know more is coming).

Some people may have read this and thought, "She's got it all wrong."

I'm going to venture a guess though, that I am actually in the majority. 

I'm simply "Keepin' It Real." Telling you like it is. Being a mom is well.....

Like this

Do I truly believe I have the best job in the world?

Yes I do.

But I don't believe I'll really know it enough to post it on FB until I'm a Grandma.

Signing off.... <3