12/9/11

Inside vs. Outside
On the outside I look a little like this.



























Well, minus the map and binoculars. (I leave those to Meghan.) I am, unfortunately, somewhat rumpled. I wear a baseball cap out of desperation when my hair will not cooperate. I have a bag of crap slung over my shoulder. I am either coming or going and not necessarily getting much done. I am average.

But what do I feel like on the inside?







Curvy and strong. Smoky eyes. A killer voice that belts out the blues. Awesome hair that always looks nice. Strength and compassion and purpose fill my days. On top of everything. Eternally young.

No, I can't sing. And no, I would never wear that much eye make-up. But that's how I feel on the inside. I think as kids we feel a certain way on the inside and assume that's how we present ourselves to the world. At a certain age, we have to come to grips with the cruel reality that what we feel like on the inside is not always how the world perceives us or even allows us to be.

One of my kids has a strong personality, and I often feel the frustration of trying to contain him. But why am I containing him? Shouldn't I let him be who he feels like for as long as possible? So without further ado, let me show you who my kids are on the inside.
Carver
Lily

Zinabu

Long live childhood

8 comments:

rebekah said...

I LOVE that you feel that way on the inside - you look like that to me. And btw, that first picture? Who is that? Because it looks like me. I have pants like that and a hat and backpack like that but the binoculars I would also defer to a certain someone who wears them with much more panache than I could ever muster.

This is such a good reminder - and while I feel a bit sad in that I wouldn't know what picture to find for D, I will someday as she is more and more my daughter every day. Just gotta encourage her to show it.

jayme said...

Hilarious! When I saw that first picture, I totally thought of Rebekah! And I think both of you deserve your very own binocular harnesses for Christmas!

I often think about how what I look like on the outside (read: a hot mess) corresponds to how I feel /who I am on the inside. I love the adele comparison. And I do have the voice. I'm just way too shy to let most people hear it!

I also seriously love all three of your kiddo's inner beings. but that's not really surprising, now, is it? I say we throw convention and constraint out the window and let the little ones be who they are. They're certainly on a path to take the world by storm!!!

M and M said...

Love, and probably need to gift you a binocular harness. Your English dude would go wild for the look - promise.

Bridget said...

I love this post. It is incredibly insightful and honest. I love how you feel on the inside- AWESOME. And your kids- seriously?! SO cool. This post is going to have me thinking of my own comparisons all weekend... love you!

The Lost Planetista said...

I love this. I think I"m going to walk around today analyzing my family and myself to come up with who we are on the inside. Awesome.

K said...

great insight here. thanks for sharing. on my inside i'm audrey hepburn. maybe today i'll try to be a bit of that on my outside, too....

Vivi said...

Love this post.

hotflawedmama said...

REBEKAH HOLY CRAP I WAS JUST THINKING "Daaaang that picture looks like Rebekah!" Hilarious.

I would've pegged Carver for like William Wallace or something. That kid is warrior strong. ;) And if I remember Zinabu likes wearing his hair like Einstein so perhaps his outsides match his insides? ;)

I love this post.