The blockage in my authenticity

It is difficult to be honest and authentic. 

Where are the lines in honesty?  When is it not okay to name names and speak the truth about a relationship you are struggling with? 

The internet and blogosphere is like the windows to a home lit up at night with no curtains drawn.  My mom and I would take walks around our neighborhood at night when I lived at home.  One of my favorite parts of walking in the evening is taking a quick look into these lit up windows.  Where did they put their sofa?  Look how nicely their kitchen is decorated.  Etc, etc.  Creepy?  Sure, but only for the five seconds it takes to walk past the house.  I promise I don't linger any longer than that.... Unless I am in desperate need of decorating advice. 

Just kidding.

Back to the point.  How can I knowingly open the curtains on my life, allowing perhaps perfect strangers a chance to see into my heart and mind, and not cover up the mess, but be genuine?  Because I could very well clean up my front room.  Make everything look lovely and picture-perfect.  One room isn't too difficult to keep clean.  Unless you have toddlers (a.k.a. tornadoes of destruction) and then you're screwed.  On the other hand, I could put all my dirty laundry on display in my front room too.  Every awful mess and hard moment put up for everyone to see. 

I often get frustrated when I read blogs.  While it's wonderful to get a glimpse into someone's life, see their beautiful homes and fantastic children and wonderful meals they cook, it's too easy to take the small representation I'm seeing and apply it to the whole.  Because what blogger in their right mind is going to write about the argument they had with their spouse this morning?  Or the terrible things they're thinking about their in-laws?  Or take pictures of the giant mess the house is after a day of baby-wrangling? 

I find the line between being authentic and putting my best foot forward to be difficult to draw.  Because being authentic is more than just telling the truth and nothing but the truth.  Protection of family and children is important, after all.  But putting my best foot forward can so easily turn into an idyllic front that offers no insight into the reality of my situation. 

What it gets down to is this:  How can I share my thoughts and feelings about my life and not do damage to the people involved?  Because every time I sit down to write something here I feel like such a liar. 

...

When I was in college I had a professor that assigned us two-page essays to write about a topic of our choice.  This turned out to be much more difficult than it sounded, simply because being concise is a skill, and one that I don't practice much, obviously.

It just made me think: maybe the answer is in being concise.  Can I share, but share in such a way that gets to the point without the fluff?  That should be a blogging goal for sure.  Because who wants to read all these long existential rants anyway?

So, to end it all, here are three concise statements that are meant to share exactly how I've been feeling this week.

1 >> I know now just how much comparison steals contentment. (More on this at a later date.  <Sigh> So much for being concise.)

2 >> After four days of extremely early bedtimes and wake-up calls for my husband, I must say I am amazed at the fortitude and courage of single parents.

3 >> I will continue believing that His grace is sufficient for me in the hopes that this will allow me to stop indulging in an extremely petty rivalry.  Good luck to me! 

Truth from the chiropractor's office.