Downtime

I suppose some people are curious lately about how I always seem to be on the go. I guess social media is a funny thing. People tend to forget that you only see the things I allow you to see. That’s what makes it kinda unfair a lot of the times.

On Instagram Saturday one of my followers wrote that I have a great life. I admit one hundred percent that I do. I am blessed with a wonderful life and I am so thankful for everything and everyone in it. But please do not mistake my positive social media posts to mean that my life is all sunshine and butterflies. I struggle, I have people who hurt me, and I am sure I hurt feelings too. I don’t always make the right decisions, but I do try. I sin and I fall short, but I love Jesus with my whole heart.

One thing that bothers me lately is that some people in real life are judging me personally based on the social media posts connected to my blog. My blog is my hobby. It’s my passion and my downtime. It’s what I do in my free time to unwind when my husband watches dude TV. It’s how I help others. I feel like God uses me to inspire others to lead healthier, happier lives. If I am already planning out dinners for the week and I shoot a few pictures of what I’m doing so I can teach you how to do it too, it’s no biggie. I’ve gotta eat and I might as well show you what works for me too. It doesn’t take a whole lot of extra effort for me to help a bunch of other people.

My Zumba® classes are another area that is being judged harshly by people in my life. I would honestly weigh 200+ pounds if I was not working out two times a week right now. I’m already going to be there, what difference does it make than to let God use me to teach the class? I spent six months avoiding God leading me to teach Zumba® anyways. Guess what? It did not work out very well. Since I’m going to work out anyways, why not teach the class? For two hours out of the whole week I get to experience peace and joy in class. I connect with amazing Christian women who have mentored to me and prayed with me week after week. How can anyone disagree with that?

Our weekends are our family time. I spend Saturdays with my favorite guys. What most people don’t understand is that both my husband and my son are ADHD. Our idea of relaxing is never sitting still all day. We are never going to be that family that sits in front of the TV all day long. My husband and I are wired the same. We have a lot of ambition, we like accomplishing things, and we love improving stuff. When we have nothing going on, we feel uninspired and bored. My brain literally feels like it is going 100 MPH and it never shuts off. I have so many ideas and thoughts all of the time. To make me sit still and do nothing is almost torture. My mind is constantly generating ideas and thoughts.

Just because I write about healthy living and working out does not mean that I am an extremist. We have treats and we do things in moderation. I believe in moderation in all aspects of life. I am just as real as you are!

My heart wants to help anyone I can live better and actually pull this off. If I tell you never to eat another doughnut again, you’re going to call me a hypocrite. I’m just as real as you are, but I am here to tell you not to eat them every day if you want to lose weight.  

Just because someone looks like they have it all together on Instagram, Facebook or a blog doesn’t mean they aren’t real. It doesn’t mean they don’t struggle or it doesn’t hurt their feelings when you judge what they are passionate about. What you don’t see on all of my social media is that I love to read in my downtime, I enjoy photography, I write all the time, I listen to all kinds of music, I dance everywhere, I love to research and organize everything, I love to clean to relax, I soak in the tub a lot, and I am a Pinterest addict. These are things social media cannot decode about me. And I am only about half as busy as I look thanks to some very wonderful prescheduled posts and apps!