Keeping it Real (Halloween 2012)

A friend recently told me that one day, my children would look back on the glowing photos and sweet smiles and think our life was picturesque.  Apparently, the day-to-day chaos that pervades our lives isn't always evident in photos.  And, to keep it real for my grown kids, I present:

Keeping it Real; a letter to my adult children:

Dear Adult Avery, Kate and Reese,

Sure, you guys pose sweetly for pictures.  And yep, Mom has a fairly nice camera that makes things look really great.

Also, it is true.  We have a mostly amazing life.  You love trick-or-treating, playing with friends, parties and festivities... and one or both of your doting parents are there to share the fun.

Those parts of your life, I hope, are what you think back on and remember fondly.  They're the parts we work pretty hard to make fun, special, and full of our own traditions.

But, I hope you don't ever confuse the fact that we had lots of fun and got lots of cute pictures with the fact that Mom was painfully and laughably human.  Like, the messy kind.  And the forgetful kind.  And the brush-it-off and keep moving forward kind.

Exhibit A: Candy Apples
Sweet.  Traditional.  Kid-centered.

Oh yeah, and the first three attempts at doing them had to be postponed because someone wasn't watching the baby and she ate several bites out of every apple.  So much so that we finally decided, on the third bunch of apples, just to cover the bite marks with caramel and go for it anyways.

Exhibit B:  Trick or Treating
Three Little Kittens.  Ahhhh, preciousness.

Nevermind that while Kitty A and Kitty K were trick-or-treating, Kitty R got a Ring Pop stuck in her "fur" and became so sticky that she had to be stripped.  So, the rest of the night, a toddler in a diaper handed out candy.  Well-meaning people would ask, "What is she supposed to be?" as they took candy from a naked child with a kitty face on.  Mom would answer, "She's a cat that has a Ring Pop stuck in her fur."  Isn't it obvious?

Exhibit C: The Halloween Party
Pumpkin decorating, food galore, homemade Jello worms with Mom...

Oh, yeah - and the part where Reese fell in the pool.

Exhibit D: Reese's Halloween Party
Tons of Toddlers.  Lots of them in Matching Super Hero costumes.  Precious Reese, Wonder Woman cape flapping.

And Wonder Woman screaming.  And dealing with a medicine allergy.  And trying, desperately, to communicate to Mommy that something is wrong.  But Mommy, for all of her efforts, cannot seem to understand what happened to this baby, and why she isn't happy, and what am I supposed to do again when a kid cries?

Exhibit E: Our Pumpkin Patch
A sweet collection of pumpkins in our front yard

And the sprouts from the pumpkin that decayed, leaving its innards to grow into seedlings.

So, my adult children, please do smile warmly at the nostalgia you feel when you look back on this time of your life.  And then laugh along with me as we remember that the pressure's off.  Life was fun, but it couldn't pretend not to also be messy!

Click here for pictures

Love,
Mom