Monday, December 31, 2018

It's what you don't see...

As I write this my cat Squirrel is sitting beside me, a pot of vanilla tea to my left with my teacup shown above, and a blue and pink sky in my view over the top of my laptop. I started my day, this the last day of 2018 with a smile and a laugh, you see my alarm went off and Squirrel, sleeping beside me, moaned. The comfort and humor in that I shall carry with me the rest of the year, literally, it is the last day of 2018 and what a year it has been. Sounds perfect right?


A friend posted on social media on Christmas Eve, a week ago,  something that has stayed with me and reminds me of  how important it is to remember that everyone is fighting a battle and war that you may not see. Someone wrote my friend with the best of intentions and said, " Your life looks so perfect, you really have it all together, I wish I could be just like you". Her response of just how unperfect her life really was gave me pause for thought and time to reflect.


I once was told that I should feel shame in posting as often and as much as I do. That I promote an unattainable lifestyle and that in doing what I love, I hurt others.

In hindsight think that was more a reflection of the person commenting then the truth. My life is just like many of you...



The truth is this. for me, like many others, blogging, instagram and social media have been a life line to the outside world, an outlet and a creative gift. Reading as many books as I have been able too has allowed me the freedom to experience 500 lives and adventures when really I have had to stay put. Each cup of tea has been a repreve and an adventure, a comfort in a less than perfect world. It gave me a much needed escape from everyday life and it introduced me to a community of like minded, lovely people who share similar interests and experiences.


It is what you don't see, in what I don't share,  that I hope you will understand, the struggle for all of us is real. My table with the beautiful photos of my tea cup in the morning, often is not a true reflection of the bigger picture. You see what I want you to see. This is all I share because the rest of my table is cluttered, often with last nights dishes, the cats, and all the other stuff that collects on every surface of my tables.  The piles of laundry, dishes, and clutter, I usually keep to myself.

The doctors appointments, the hospital trips, the therapy sessions, the bills, the clutter and the mess, is what I don't often share. But it is very real. Work, life, balance, the struggle is real. We all try to keep this part of our lives to ourselves. I promise, my life is not perfect, and I am doing the best I can but with each photo, each cup of tea, I am surviving and grateful for those who kindly care enough to check in with me and who like, read or enjoy the moments of joy that I create in a life full of Chaos and normality.

May 2019 bring you clarity, comfort, joy, great cups of tea, wonderful reads and true friendships.
Thank you,
Karen

10 comments:

  1. Thank you for blogging as often as you do. I read every single one of your posts. I don't comment often, on yours and others that I read. I hope to improve on that.
    Have a Happy New Year and be safe if you go out tonight.

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    1. Thank you Deb! You too! Thank you for taking time to read and write a comment. I hope 2019 for you is wonderful.

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  2. Happy New Year, Karen! I enjoy every one of your blog posts. I appreciate your honesty today. I, too, don't share the "normal" drama in my life because it's mine to handle with the support of family and friends in "real life". Social media, for me, is about books and authors which is what keeps me sane.

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    1. Joan, how wonderful to hear from you. I am in agreement! I love what makes us sane! Selfcare is not selfish!

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  3. Happy New Year Karen!!! I enjoy your posts and quite frankly if we all posted our real life situations, they'd be so depressing no one woukd want to read them (mine would be anyway). Everyone wants to emphasize the positive. As the song "The Way We Were" states "what's too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget. ...So it's the laughter we will remember..."

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    1. Yes Mary! You are correct! Thank you for that reminder!

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    2. How very true those words are...especially the song lyrics!

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  4. This is beautiful. Thank you for sharing your heart and your truth! XOXO

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