I’ll come out of the closet as long as I don’t have to show you my muffin top
Real moms have clutter.
Kristen scared the living crap out of me when she posted this meme over at The Mom Trap.
While my admiration for her courage transcends words – and I’m not just talking about the belly shot she posted – I was about to say “No thank you” to a meme for the first time ever. Nobody – not even my HUSBAND – wants to see my tummy.
(Honey, keep lying to me, okay? Thanks love.)
This meme is not about post-partum flab. It’s about being okay with who you are and what you’ve got, knowing that you make the best of every day. Even if “making the best of every day” sometimes translates to “I didn’t kill anyone today! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
It’s also about realizing that even when somebody else’s world seems far preferable to yours, they have their own challenges – and if you knew all the dirty details about those troubles, you’d probably be happy to keep your own familiar ones.
Finally, it’s about recognizing that perfection is impossible. Long ago, I swiped a book from my mother’s bookshelf – “The Women’s Room” by Marilyn French.
Witness the chaos of a real mom (and click on the pictures to see notes on Flickr):
Real Moms. Embracing clutter with open arms.
March 13th, 2007 at 6:27 am
Is that my closet???
It could all be me, including the tummy talk!
March 13th, 2007 at 6:34 am
Good one. Yes, real moms are all about the clutter. Particularly this real mom (I wouldn’t even dare show you MY closet.)
March 13th, 2007 at 7:20 am
Crank Mama tagged me too and I thought (because of her) that I had to post a photo of me in bed! (NO WAY!)
March 13th, 2007 at 7:20 am
I love your Flickr notes. True dedication to the craft of blogging.
March 13th, 2007 at 7:29 am
B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!
March 13th, 2007 at 7:53 am
Yisseree! I am learning to embrace my inner clutterer b/c I don’t want to go insane trying to banish it!
March 13th, 2007 at 7:57 am
I feel so comfortable here!
March 13th, 2007 at 8:08 am
I see those Tarjay bags!
Oh yes, my house was neat on Sunday for a few hours for Amelia’s birthday party but only after I slaved overe it all weekend and strategically hid some clutter in our bedroom and closed the door. And now it is back to a comfortable chaotic mess.
March 13th, 2007 at 8:57 am
Dear God…your closet looks like a bastion of order and organization next to mine. Really. I’d post a picture, but I’m afraid that it might burn your retinas. Instead, I’m posting about why no one is getting laid at my house. Check it out if you’re so inclined.
March 13th, 2007 at 8:58 am
Amen! Except I must hide this post from my husband, least he improve upon his amazing trash-multiplying powers and think it is okay!
March 13th, 2007 at 9:48 am
my dear, you don’t know from clutter!!!
March 13th, 2007 at 10:23 am
Here’s the thing. I freaking *hate* clutter. But. You. Have. Not. Seen. The. Inside. Of. My Closets. It’s the secret place where all the clutter hides.
March 13th, 2007 at 10:38 am
I personally don’t have the clutter of my things really but I’m here to tell you, I break out into hives when I go in the playroom even when my husband helps him clean it up once a week. I don’t help them clean it up, I can’t, it makes me crazy. The muffing top, hell I have an entire cake top, no muffin to it, or maybe it is pizza dough flowing over, lol.
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March 13th, 2007 at 10:56 am
I got tagged by Mama Tulip for this meme and am struggling to decide what to post! I have clutter a million times worse than you do hidden in my closets, but now that I saw yours, that would be cheating, so I’ll have to come up with something else. I am posting a photo of the inside of my car for the Blink product review…maybe I will use that. Seriously, you don’t know gross until you have seen the inside of my car! I will have to think of something for this meme soon though!
March 13th, 2007 at 11:14 am
Accepting Clutter=the only way to stay sane. Keeping everything picked up will make you go mad!
March 13th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Shoot, that’s not clutter. You should see my house. I am an incurable Piler, every surface of every room in my house is piled with stuff. I don’t suppose you’ve seen that check I need to cash, have you?
March 13th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Yes! Embrace the clutter and then know that your clutter? Is not bad AT ALL.
March 13th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
Yeah, um, HA. You have not seen MY clutter.
Nor will you.
March 13th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Now THAT would be a scary meme…if we all had to share pics of our closet!! I applaud your courage and I’m glad you can’t see mine!!
March 14th, 2007 at 4:11 am
Your closet looks just like mine!
March 14th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Clutter, schmutter. I’ve given in long ago. I believe this can be partially attributed to always living in a home that’s in a state of remodel. (My kitchen and bathroom walls have actual HOLES in them that have been there for some time, I’m afraid. While not actual clutter, it leaves a distinct cluttery-aftertaste in the observer. Also, the impression that I live in a hovel. Which is pretty correct.)
March 14th, 2007 at 9:33 am
we only wish that the Playground was that neat!!
March 14th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
I love the thought of organization but man, the actually carrying out and maintenance of it, OMG. We lived in a clutter free world for about 6 months last year while our house was on the market, I was sure that we could keep it up in the new place, alas we were trained. Yeah, right.
March 14th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Hear, hear for clutter! You know what they say about that: If an organized desk is the refelction of an organized mind, then ehat does an empty desk say?
March 18th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Oh, you beat me to this one! I have some really good photos like that of my house too … or, hey, did you sneak into my house and take those photos?
March 19th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
I love it. You are so my friend.