I've been rather unsocial on social media lately.  

I'll be honest, it sometimes puts me in the WORST mood.  If you spent any time reading this blog, or Facebook, or insta, you know how I feel about all the faking it on social media.  What really bugs me is the follow and unfollow nonsense.  I don't take it personally, but it's annoying. Because seriously, I will totally support your story, your journey, your business! I will be the greatest cheerleader for you!  

But I often find the mommy bloggers and other profile people have no interest in YOU as a person.  (Not all, just many so it seems.)  They just want you to follow their crap for more advertising clout. No thank you.  Me being a total Type A perfectionist, your fake perfection affects me. 

There. I said it. Fake perfection affects me. 

There are a ton of studies these days regarding social media comparisons and affective mood disorders, so I know I'm not alone in this. Here's a nice research summary by a few smart Psych PhDs: Social Networking Sites, Depression, and Anxiety: A Systematic Review

What about you?  Are you ever affected by social media? Does it make you question your abilities? Do you doubt yourself as a mom or dad or even a person because of all the nonsense on social media?

For the sake of my sanity and regular sunny disposition, I took a break during Spring Break to spend quality time with my family and just kind of let it carry on a bit longer. I focused on enjoying the people I love, snuggling the hound girls, and enjoying time in my garden - the things I've really pushed to the side but are the most important at the end of a lifetime.  I'll be totally honest - NOT posting gave me anxiety.  Like, I know I should be doing this for the sake of my business, but... I don't wanna. 

Then Friday afternoon, after yard work on a beautiful warm Texas Spring day, a rain shower washed everything clean.  It was so good for my soul. 

There should be a dirt, grass, and spring rain essential oil diffuser thingy.  I'd get on board with that.

I stood on the porch, enjoying that wonderful smell and after a bit, Emma and her friend came out to join me.  There's a valley on our roof that turns rain runoff into a waterfall right in our entryway to the porch.  Before I knew it, two children were soaked from head to toe and off running in the rain.  

The light after a rain shower is always the most beautiful, so of course, I grabbed my camera.  I don't get to take as many fun photos of my family anymore.  There's never really any time to commit to finishing them.  The beauty of rain shower light is every color in nature just POPS.  No editing required. 

I watched through my lens as these girls ran and splashed, hunting pill bugs and saving earthworms from being washed away. There were no coordinated raincoats and boots. Just two bare-footed girls having the time of their lives.  Creating a memory they will never forget.

This rain shower reminded me of what's important. It reminded me of why I do what I do.  I capture the simple, real moments that mean the world to me.  As I look through the framed photographs hung on my walls, very few are posed portraits. Most all our photographs are real-life moments; perfect moments of imperfection.  They make my soul sing.

They're the photographs that inspired my business and it's misson: To capture simple, real-life moments of your life. 

I would love to capture the perfectly imperfect moments of your family with one of our Life As We Know It sessions. No posing or awkwardness; just your family and the moments that make your soul sing.