2462: Don't Hate On the Pinterest Mom by Shawna Scafe of Simple On Purpose on Finding Joy and Choosing Happy

[00:00:00] Sichere dir das neue Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra mit der nächsten Generation Galaxy AI. Bei O2 mit doppelten Speicher und Galaxy Watch Ultra. Jetzt vorbestellen. O2 can do. This is Optimal Relationships Daily. Don't Hate On the Pinterest Mom by Shawna Scafe of SimpleOnPurpose.ca

[00:00:25] Lately, I've read a lot of blog confessions that I can relate to. Not the ones about looking at my iPhone rather than my kids, or wiping their snot on my housecoat sleeves and rolling them over. It's not a confession if everyone knows you do it. I've been reading the ones about Pinterest, and how it makes me feel like I'm not meeting mom standards, aka got me feeling pin-adequate. I mean, there's always going to be that one overachiever mom who tries to make her whole life pin-worthy.

[00:00:54] You know, the one who throws her two-year-old a birthday with sandwich sculptures of Dora, individual homemade yurts for each kid to nap in, and rainbow-dyed organic handmade candles in the 3D interactive jungle cake. You find yourself cursing her as you are sitting on her stupid dual-flush toilet wiping with a stupid toilet paper origami swan and washing in her stupid rock-filled sink with vegan handmade stupid soap derived from her neighbor's kitchen scraps.

[00:01:24] Oh? What's that? You saw it on Pinterest. I've only met one mom like that, and I got over it by the time I was stuffing my face with cake. She was an overachiever, but she made awesome cake, of course she did. But, I still love Pinterest. I love seeing great organization ideas or adorable, doable-themed birthdays. I love putting together ideas and aspirations and visions that I didn't even know I had and or may never get the time to attain.

[00:01:52] But, Pinterest and mom bloggers didn't invent these things. It's not new. I remember a princess birthday with handmade tiaras and the Barbie cake. An Easter with Rice Krispie baskets and handmade matching outfits for me and my Cabbage Patch kid. I'm sure my mom was buying all the Women's World and Homemaking magazines available, and dog-earing all the projects she hoped to do.

[00:02:16] I'm also sure there was some other mom rolling her eyes at my mom's pineapple-shaped invitation to her Hawaiian luau dinner party. That was really an excuse to drink piña coladas, put flowers around necks, and joke that you got laid. The only verifiable fact in this statement is that my mama does make a mean piña colada. I enjoy a good DIY. I usually will make something rather than buy it. But, I've had a lot of fails. So many I stopped taking pinfail photos.

[00:02:45] And I still haven't mastered how to keep my toilet paper on the holder or keep a kitchen herb alive. I've even had to take a little break from certain bloggers or Instagrammers who made it look too flipping easy to keep their brood of naturally birthed kids well-behaved in public. Their house run on the Dewey Decimal System with the latest decor trends. And themselves sensibly and stylishly pulled together. That's not real life. Not mine, at least. But, I still try.

[00:03:12] And, I don't want the fear of being judged by another mom to keep me from sharing a project that I'm passionate about. It's easy to hate on the Pinterest mom. But, at the end of the day, you have to respect something that is there. The passion. Being a mom, especially a stay-at-home mom, can sometimes feel like you are drowning in a sea of dishes, diapers, demands, meal times, and routines. This day-in, day-out routine can be relentlessly boring.

[00:03:41] You need something more than monotony. Once you've become bored, or resentful, or frustrated, or have lost sight of the value you have as a mother and wife, maybe you have lost your passion. When you lose your passion, you risk losing your ambition and joy. You start running on autopilot. Been there, done that. And it ain't a pretty thing for you, and everyone around you. Disclaimer, not applicable to pregnant or nursing women. Your hormones just surged through your body like a tsunami,

[00:04:11] and your body needs time to recalibrate. Also, you have a little babe that needs you. Put your feet up, make slash nurse a baby, and watch Mad Men. There is lots of time for washi tape and custom-drawn comic books of your kids' lives. There are so many chances to fall into this passionless place in motherhood. What? What do these Pinterest moms do? They make a handmade game for their kids, put a little vavoom in their wardrobe, hunt for furniture to restore,

[00:04:40] make meal planning boards. Why? Because they are choosing to do more than the day-in, day-out. They choose to be a little more passionate about their living. There are Pinterest moms out there who might do it from a place of perfectionism or performing, but there are a whole lot of Pinterest moms who are just getting in touch with that passionate spring inside them. They are trying things, doing things, putting themselves out there.

[00:05:06] One of the biggest lies we all buy into is that we have to be perfect to be lovable. So we make a subconscious checklist of what perfect looks like, usually by comparing ourselves to others. In my eyes, perfect does not make us lovable. Being loving makes us lovable. And where there is love, there is passion. Look for passions in your own daily life. Maybe it's in how you peel an orange, the way you braid your girl's hair, how you stake your bean poles,

[00:05:35] collecting stamps, or memorizing the lyrics to I've been everywhere. It can be anything at all, but it doesn't have to be everything. So before you judge that mom who stayed up all night to make Cookie Monster cupcakes for their two-year-old's birthday party, even if they didn't work out, put away your measuring stick, and tell her they are great, and eat one like Cookie Monster, to give those cupcakes the respect they deserve.

[00:06:03] You just listened to the post titled, Don't Hate on the Pinterest Mom, by Shauna Scaife, of simpleonpurpose.ca. So, what I like about this post today is that it caught me making the same mistake I try to catch myself in as much as possible. Like many of us, I often start lumping things together based on some negative viewpoints, usually based on traps I've fallen into myself. It's so easy to look at these Pinterest moms and say, how is this useful?

[00:06:33] Why is she bragging? Shouldn't she be doing better things with her time? Where's the truth behind the curtain? Surely we all want to approach these types of feelings and situations with openness. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't be OLD network fans. So, when you find yourself falling into the trap, use this right now as a reminder to catch yourself and ask if you're putting unnecessary negative commentary in somewhere or something

[00:07:00] that is really based more on personal frustration than reality. Ask yourself what the truth is behind these biases. In most cases, you'll find the truth comes with a lot to be optimistic about. While, quote-unquote, annoying Pinterest moms can induce anger or anxiety over one's own parenting, they can also be reframed as teachers who are showing us one way to get creative and break up the monotony of raising children. Everything in perspective, my friends. So take that with you into the weekend, everyone.

[00:07:30] We are done here for today, and I hope you're feeling as centered as I am, as ready to catch yourself in your own stupid biases as I am. It's a good place to be. I am wishing all of you a wonderful weekend, and be sure to listen along with us again tomorrow, where your optimal life awaits.