Falling in love with your real life

My husband and I were just talking the other day about how much our relationship has changed over time. In the beginning you get the butterflies, wondering if the other person feels the same way you do. After you’ve been together for the better part of a decade, there is no question. Along the way you come to realize the difference between fictional love stories and real life.

Valentines Day is the perfect example of this. Social media is plastered with images of perfect floral bouquets and gourmet meals and celebrating couples that are madly in love. The truth of the matter is that real life is far from those Instagram posts.

We were about to fall asleep on February 14th when my husband turned to me and apologized for not doing more to celebrate the holiday of love. This is the man that is working hard to build the home of our dreams -- that is after he’s worked a full day at his job.

There’s not much romantic about how we spent our evening. Our 4-course meal was air fried pork chops and a hodge-podge of random vegetables, prepared to try and entice my child to each something healthy. We spent the evening bathing and putting our toddler to bed and troubleshooting why our new lights aren’t working.

I was surprised with a sweet gift from my husband. However, my son wasn’t too keen on sharing the bag of chocolate and proceeded to run around the house with them for 10 minutes, before finally getting distracted by a toy.

Nothing about our day was particularly glamorous. In fact, the photos of my son I had posted that morning were blurry and out of focus. It initially made me sad that my boy wouldn’t hold still long enough to give me a nice smile. But then I kicked myself, because at the end of the day I have such a beautiful life, even if I can’t capture it on camera.

The dishes may fall behind and there may be toys strewn throughout the house, but I have a solid roof over my head and all the comforts of a home. My son may have coated his highchair with applesauce and have crumbs all over the floor, but he’s happy, healthy and thriving. My relationship may have tense moments when we get stressed out, and my body might be getting more and more uncomfortable with this growing baby. But at the end of the day, we are all incredibly blessed.

It might be crazy and chaotic, but I have such a wonderful family -- a playful, messy little boy, a hard working, thoughtful husband and a sweet little one that will be here soon.

To all the other non-influencer moms out there: Don’t stress about the little things, because it won’t always be picture perfect. Fall in love with your real life.