Dear Mom... Read This and Know That You are ENOUGH.

So.. we're all friends here - I'll come right out and admit it:

 I've been guilty of posting only the most flattering pictures of myself with my little boy. 

Oh, don't get all judgey, Moms ;) We all do it with pictures on social media - conceal the bad, show the good.

I've caught myself doing it and quickly become disgusted and corrected my behavior. Sure, I still take a zillion shots to find a few good ones, but for the most part, I don't obsess anymore.

Why?

This picture is where it all started:

Here I am, post-workout, and covered in sweat. I am gross, my hair is greasy, I hadn't showered yet that day (hello, very average Mom here!), and I was not feeling it.

But my little boy was laughing, he was having SUCH a fun day, he had just tackled me, we were hysterically laughing TOGETHER.... and I knew I had to capture that moment.

I posted it despite how gross I was and got such amazing feedback from other moms.

Turns out, people don't like perfection. Go figure.

We see pictures of us and get disgusted, or discouraged when we don't look our best, when our fat is hanging out (why mince words, we all say it!), or when our face isn't angled just right.

But guess what? Years from now, my little guy will look at these pictures and TREASURE them. Because he will recognize that Logan and Mommy had some AMAZING times together!

He won't care about the sweat or the crazy hair or the stained clothes.

Moms, the important thing is that our kids HAVE pictures of us with them. Unflattering pictures, flattering ones, photos where you have double chins or look high, photos where they're not even looking at the camera - they don't care! They will want to look back and see how WE are with THEM!

They will look at our faces, which will reflect how we really felt in those moments.

Were we miserable and self-conscious because someone had whipped a camera out? Or were we truly ENJOYING the time we had with those kiddos?

Now, let's translate this into our every-day lives this summer:

See, I have taken my Logan to the beach a few times this year.

Am I ever the skinniest mom there?

Nope.

Do I still have stretch marks?

Yup.

Am I at my goal weight?

Nope.

Does my Logan care?

Nope!

And I'll tell you what else: no other Moms care either. Why? Because they're all too worried about what everyone else is thinking about their own bodies.

It's sad that we've come to this place. Instead of being excited to spend time with our kids, splashing and playing and diving, we are sitting on the beach (if we don't talk ourselves out of even that!), covered up and worried about what everyone else is thinking.

Now, Moms,

I KNOW that you're rummaging through your closet, trying to find a bathing suit adequate enough to cover your stretch marks.

I KNOW you're agonizing over your decision to bring your kids to the beach or to stay home today, where nobody can see you.

I can only GUESS that you're frustrated because you can't seem to find your cover-up or your long dress to hide under when you DO decide to brave the beach.

Moms: our kids don't care. They want US. They don't care about our stretch marks, our imperfections, or how pale we are. They love us for us. You are enough the way you are right now.

Yes, I strive to be HEALTHIER and help others with their own health and feeling confident again. It's important. But on the same note, it's even more important that we focus on the QUALITY of time we spend with our kids. NOW. We will never get these moments back! Treasure them. Take those mommy and kid pictures. Enjoy this stage of your journey right now.

Let's focus on getting healthier from the inside out this year, ok? :)