I want your life - but do you really, all of it?

I always laugh when someone tells me they want my life. I’ll admit, it’s pretty okay. But, it’s messy, just like everyone else’s life.

I suppose what they are referring to is, my highlight reel, my Instagram or Facebook life. That life that I love posting about because it brings me joy or happiness. And because no one wants to see a picture of cat puke that soaked my sock when I stepped in it in the dark.

I’m glad that I can give people something to work for, or long to creat for themselves. But hopefully these few examples give you an idea of how people look at your highlight reel, and why we can’t take offense, because we all do it.

For instance, I posted a cool picture of honeycomb. Someone said…that’s so neat. I wish I had your life. That’s fine, but does that mean you want the 2 hours that it took to take care of my bees that one day; the lifting, sweat, trips back and forth with equipment, bees buzzing around my head, the money I invested in the bees…That part? Or, the part where I took a picture of honeycomb, with no bees around me?

I posted a picture of my longarm quilting machine. Someone said, “I wish I had your life.” That looks awesome. Which part do you want? My going to bed at 12 and getting up at 5, to get my work done, so I have time to quilt. Winding numerous bobbins, carrying a bolt of batting, maneuvering backing, pressing, picking out wrong stitches, stretching out sore back and neck muscles, investing in a machine instead of a new car, questioning whether I chose the right thread or quilting pattern, troubleshooting when my machine goes berserk; those things? Or, taking a picture of a quilt on a longarm?

You went to France? “I want your life.” 20 hours one way, because the plane turned around, sore body all over, sitting next to someone with a cough for 8 hours, days of pre-planning and packing and changing flights; that part? Or, taking a picture by the Eiffel Tower?

I sit by my window and watch the birds early in the morning on our acreage. “I want your life.” The bird-watching part, or mowing for hours, pulling ticks off, controlling erosion, defending plants from deer, being alone-far from town, wind that blows the mulch away, paying $120 for the appliance repairman just to make the trip out here to look at our humming fridge; those things? Or, the part where I’m sitting for a bit to watch the birds?

See? We often see one thing, think that would be a great life, and forget or block out the parts that we don’t want to think about. There’s a whole lot of behind the curtain work that goes into living, no matter what.

I hope you think of this, next time you see something on Instagram and wish that was your life. Would you be willing to take on all of that life, or just that cute picture of a baby grinning in the early morning?

You friend,
Anne Dovel - The Fit Quilter