Pictures Tell (Part of) a Story

Ahhhh social media. Where we can post our splendid life moments with a click of a button and share instantly with friends and family. We post the sweet, the glamorous, the tidy times, the smiles. And really, why shouldn't we... life is full of sweet moments.

Sometimes though, a reminder is needed that life is not always as what is portrayed in the tiny snippets that pop up in your newsfeed.

Take for example this cute picture of Maycee just adoring one of her new baby guinea keets. A little girl and a tiny baby bird, in a sweet embrace.  

Well, now, here is reality.  A night later we had a heat lamp snafu where a breaker tripped in the middle of the night leaving poor guineas without heat. Half of the flock died (8 of the 15.)

For as much as this darling loves her chicks and keets, it turns out, she has a farm girls' heart of stone. She wanted to help pick up the dead Guinea keets by the feet and throw them into the garbage. I suppose I forgot to take a picture of that. 

How about this one?

I can just see the description on this one: "Look what I woke up to this morning." #lovebeingamommy #cutestfaceever

And it is partially true. She is adorable and I love watching her in the morning. 

But not as much as I love waking up without her in my bed.

Truthfully, that night was wretched. She joined us at 2:00 am a snotty, cranky mess. She kicked and tossed and separated us to our tiny allotted space on each side of the bed. (In case you are wondering, I'm not a co-sleeper!)

Here's a cute blonde 3 year old playing in the tub, looking all cute!

He fell and got a swollen lip before 9 am. He got so muddy that he had to change pants twice before lunch and then again in the afternoon. [And I mean these pants were out of commission.] He picked on his sisters consistently until naptime. He got stuck in a mud hole at the creek bottom and needed rescuing. Hence the bath. 

Aw. Special daddy and kid moment. A sling shot; what an iconic symbol of a free-spirited childhood. 

Reality note here. If you give a 6 year old boy a slingshot, there will be a busted something in less than two weeks. 

In our case, it was the skidsteer window. Funny thing. Daddy revoked all slingshot privileges until further notice. 

Life is so full of precious moments. Sometimes I think it's incredibly sweet to look back on all the moments posted of my own life. See how things change. How fast babies grow. How really, you just can't seem to remember feeling discouraged or frazzled. The good memories set forever in a photograph are what remain largely in our memory. 

(Ok, and perhaps a whiff of the challenging times.)