i'm feeling rather mediocre, thank you for asking...

wow...
so apparently, it all starts here...for those of you that WON'T follow that link: several bloggers are included in a group called alltops (basically the cream of the crop...those bloggers whose sites get more traffic than some busy intersection - no time to get creative with the similies/methaphors/whatever) she decided to create this - allmediocre.com
i, jokingly mind you, asked them if they were thinking of creating another group for those of us that are even lower than that...such as allireallywantissomeonetoreadthisandoccasionallycomment
they responded with the welcome to join in on the fun! i've really never felt quite so happy letting everyone know that i'm mediocre! oh yeah, and then i got all full of myself and asked them to list my name in all lowercase letters. seriously, who do i think i am?? but, they obliged...thanks guys!

so, this got me thinking...

this mediocre business...that's really what blogging is all about to me. no, not the allmediocre group, per se. but the feeling of mediocrity in general. i began this journey reading blogs corresponding with my topics of interest because it was fun to see how other people do what they do. it was fun to see their beautiful pictures. it was fun to read their stories (kind of a reality television, without the television) eventually, i started commenting and reading comments and visiting other people's blogs through comments and i realized i'm not alone.

there are other people out there that get pissed off at their husbands for stupid little things that don't really matter in the long run.

there are other people out there that LOVE their children with all of their heart and soul...but don't always LOOOOVE everything their children do.

there are other people that have bladder control issues since having children - especially during sneezes and coughing episodes.

there are other people out there that don't have a perfect house or a perfect job or a perfect refrigerator or a perfectly "served" dinner each night.

i really am NOT alone.

So often in this world, we tend to reflect on people's faults. what makes them different from us. what we don't like about them. we tend to harp on other people's ideas and reasonings for doing the things that they feel are right for them and their family. we feel that we are doing it right, so anything different must be wrong. we think that something that is happening to us must be abnormal because no one else talks about it. we meet people on the street that we instantly judge because of how their children are acting/not acting. we see mom's on the playground that are sitting on a bench and we judge because "wow, look at me, i'm actually interacting with my child". we potentially mistake the person in front of us in line who has screaming children and remark that "that is why i put my kids to bed early!" do we really know why they are doing what they are doing?

maybe the mom with the child that is acting up is actually a child with autism. that "acting up" is really just his indication that the world is waaaaaay too overstimulating right now and he needs to get out of there.

maybe the mom that is sitting on the bench is 8 weeks pregnant with her second baby and is dead tired...taking her little preschooler to the playground was better than him running amok in the house while she fell asleep on the couch.

maybe the mom with the screaming kids in the line late at night has been in the hospital all day with her husband and just got home and realized that they were out of milk...but never noticed because her husband is just barely staying alive and that was consuming her attention at the time.

you know... i think it's time that we celebrate our mediocrity. we should encourage each other to just do the best that you can. we should continue to let each other have glimpses into our lives so that maybe another mommy out there will realize that she's not alone, either. i truly think i've become a better mommy, a understanding wife and a more confident person through blogging...because i know that i'm mediocre - which in another way of thinking is... just. average. and i'm totally ok with that.