Embracing Transparency

I talk a lot about transparency.

It's not just talk.

I believe in transparency--as a blogger, as a moms' group leader, as a friend, as a mom, as a wife, as a Christian, as a human.

I know I've said that many times before, but it was challenged again today--my belief was challenged again today--Oh yes it was.  Yes, it was. Yes, it was.

It's a real belief.

Is it really?  Are you sure?  Just how sure are you?

A lot of what I do is transparent.

Just call me a window.  A dirty and smudged window covered in fingerprints that has been repeatedly licked by the dog--but a window nonetheless.

It often looks like a cry for attention, I'm sure, but really, it's called being transparent.  This is why I share my parenting fails, my homeschooling fails, my wifing fails, my friending fails--allll my fails--along with a few of my triumphs.  It's why I share what it's like to grieve my sister and my friend at the same time, while dealing with family dysfunction (dancing backward, in heels, uphill, in the mud...).  It's why I share musings and life with autism, depression and a duck.  It's why I share about infertility, my incredible husband, chronic illness, and boy-motherhood.

I've been accused of being an over-sharer.

Eh.

I do this to help others--so we know we aren't alone, so we can look at a post, or a photo or a sentence and think, or say, "Oh, I'm not the only one who feels/thinks/says this."

You're not in this alone.  Everyone deserves someone in their corner.

Most importantly--Perhaps most importantly?--you're not in this alone, and there's no judgment coming from me.

I will hug you, cheer you on, encourage you, hand you a tissue, offer a simple "I love you, friend."

Whatever it is you need, you've got it.