A Happy Homelife

“Pull Quotes” of a 4 Year Old: Weeks 9-10

A friend posted a very cute picture of her toddler on Instagram the other day. Then immediately wrote a self-deprecating joke like “Before you think this is perfect…” and said she pooped on her right after. It struck me, her need to belittle sharing her “picture-perfect” life.

Maybe it struck me because it was on Instagram, the land of the selfie and humblebrag. Or maybe because I do it too? In thinking of this very post over the weekend and what I’d title it, I wondered if claiming “A Happy Homelife” was showy or boasting. Did it make it sound as if everything was “perfect?”

Because it is not. We are not the perfect as-seen-on-TV family. But then, what family is? Okay, maybe the Obamas, but not including them… every family has their quirks, insecurities, bad days, tiffs, tantrums and a laundry list of other real problems. If we lived by comparing ourselves to everyone else’s standards, would anyone really be happy?

Speaking of happy: Last week, I put together the audio version of Interview with My 4 Year-Old Daughter. Hear my daughter’s (and my) first podcast: