Alex, I’ll take “Edited Version” for $500 Please…

The Edited Version of MF…I totally wake up like this.

Yep 8 weeks into my leave of absence from CHEX TV, and yes I miss it, the people mostly, but I truly believe I’m investing in my future.  The greatest gift you can give someone is your time, and boy have my kids got it.  There are days when I think WHAT AM I DOING???  Kids are needy, dependent, dirty, selfish creatures but they’re also raw, pure, genuine, loyal, organic and funny, really funny.

My husband, Adriano is a Barber in Bridgenorth (insert plug for Sam’s Nephew’s Barbershop here), and works long hours to support us, as a result he often hears more about our adventures rather then experiencing them with us. Recently while Adriano was working, our youngest caught a decent sized large mouth bass with the help of his uncle, Kevin Lemaire.  When Adriano got home I showed him the nice Instagram collage I made of the moment, he instantly put his head down and went quiet.  After prying “whats wrong” he answered quietly “it should have been me helping him catch that fish”. I sighed, knowing all too well that feeling of missed opportunities, it was just last year when roles were reversed, and I worked longer hours while Adriano had the chance to stay with the kids.  But after a moment I snorted and said “hey, can I tell you what’s NOT in the pictures?…

• the 100 million mosquitos
• the 30000000 deer fly’s
• the kid who’s thirsty
• the kids who’s itchy
• the kid who wanted to catch the fish
• the kid who wants to keep the fish
• the overdue bedtime that I will pay for later
• the sobbing because no one wants to go home
• the sobbing because they do wanna go home
• did I mention the bugs?

…shall I go on?”

“No”, smirks Adriano, I know exactly what I missed.

The point is pictures and videos are the edited version of a moment or event, and in a world dominated by social media, many of us can quickly get jealous, resentful or depressed thinking everyone else is living a much better life than ours.  We see the highlight reel rather then the uncut version.

I can assure you, the grass isn’t always greener.  Life is what you make of it, and yes when Marcello caught that fish, it was awesome, and yes it would have been better if Adriano were there, but life is about balance and we need to eat (did I mention that kids are also REALLY expensive).  Perception is powerful, and remember in the words of my wise friend, Catherine Hanrahan, it should be called Fakebook not Facebook.

MF

“The Moment”..Marcello loving his large mouth bass!

Adriano calls this a haircut, I call it “The Skunk”… again shameless promotion for Sam’s Nephew’s Barber Shop in Bridgenorth.

Not making the “highlight” reel”…or should it…a brief boowhooo moment on an otherwise great trip to African Lion Safari… I highly recommend it… actually the highlight reel of that is almost done!