Behind the scenes stuff. Gosh, how do you even sum it all up? How do you portray the real picture without having someone spend a day or a week with you? Tonight I’m going to try and sum up the best and worst parts of running NW Healthy Mama. For me, a “behind the scenes” look into people’s lives is always extremely helpful. For one, it helps me appreciate the person for where they’re at, it helps me understand them better and it always teaches me something. I hope this post is encouraging to you. If anything, I hope something in it makes you say “Oh my word, me too“.
A second post will be coming soon with Q&A answers from questions asked on Instagram and Facebook. For now, here’s the best and worst parts of running this site. Before you read the hardest parts, please hear me loud and clear and know how INCREDIBLY THANKFUL I am for this community…..but it’s not always all hikes and yummy salads, so here’s a look into my reality.
Hardest parts (in no particular order):
•People thinking they know me but I don’t really know them. Maybe this isn’t as hard, as it is awkward. Since this site is read mostly very locally, I tend to see many people when I’m out and about who read it. No one has ever been anything but kind (you guys are amazing!), but it’s just awkward. It’s like we know each other, but we don’t—–does that make sense? I’m the type who just wants to cut the weirdness and move onto friendship so, I never really know how to handle this. If you know me, but I don’t know you, please just say hi? 
•People thinking you’re judging their food or their life. Here’s the thing, I’m not judging what you order at a restaurant or what you feed your kids at our playdate. I am not perfect either and if I order my burger wrapped in lettuce and you order yours with a bun, I really don’t care. Like, at all. I am at this point in my life where I feel so free to be me and so completely okay with accepting other people for who they are. So please people, never think I’m judging and please don’t expect perfection from me either.
•Time management- or just having enough time. Over the last year or two, there’s become this problem where I NEVER feel like I have enough time in the day. I am rushed from start to finish and honestly, it must change. Some people struggle with not knowing what interests them. I struggle with the opposite. I want to do it all. Read. Write. Sleep. Take baths. Work at my kids school. Do MOPS stuff. Clean. Be a good friend. Be present for my kids. Spend time offline. Plan hikes. Spend time with my husband. Watch my shows. Exercise daily. Dang it. I can NOT do it all.
•Insecure feelings, knowing people form opinions of you, based on what you share and when you don’t share ALL of your life, it’s hard for people to know the entire picture of who you are. That was a long awkward sentence. Please forgive me, it’s Friday night and I’m not working for perfection here. What I’m trying to say is there is SO MUCH I don’t share here and I struggle knowing people form opinions of me, based on what I DO share. I 97% of the time don’t Instagram my workouts or the time I spend with my kids. Honestly, I don’t think we all need to post that stuff. Oh my gosh, can you even imagine? I don’t share much about MOPS or the parks planning team I’m on and I don’t share what I do all day long. There is SO MUCH good life I never write about……on the flip side, I have so much peace about what I do choose to share. Just please don’t think I didn’t workout if I didn’t post about it for 2 months…hahahaha.
•Comparison! To the point where I’m constantly checking in with myself about what I read and why. I can’t read many blogs or look at Instagram too much because before I know it, I start to loose my voice and joy. It’s a constant battle to put my blinders on and just do MY THING. Possibly the ugliest thing about social media is the whole numbers thing. Because of that, I didn’t even install site metrics until fairly recently. I have to be so careful about this because you guys….my identity is NOT wrapped up in this site, but darn it, if you aren’t careful, sometimes you can be in your 30’s and start to feel like an insecure middle-schooler all over again. Crap, I love this site and I love where it’s going but am I going to let numbers make me full of joy or depressed? Heck no.
Now for the fun part—-The best parts!
•Feeling completely at peace with how much I do/don’t share about our family. This one is huge for me and right now, I am SO at peace with what I share and what I don’t. My kids are the most precious, wonderful and important people in my life and it sounds weird, but I love not writing about them very often or sharing tons of pictures of them. All I can say is to each their own, but I have a tremendous amount of peace with how personal I get.
•The people! Oh my gosh, this has got to be the BEST part. I’ve been privileged to meet quite a few of you in real life and truly, I am SO thankful for the type of ladies this site has attracted. Because of this site, I have made some wonderful in real life friends and I’ve seen lots of other people connect as well. When you start something, you never know what the vibe will attract and from the bottom of my heart, I am so thankful for YOU!
•The fabulous companies I get to work with. Making some extra money for my family is definitely an added blessing, and being able to work with companies I truly love makes me so happy. I am a natural cheerleader and I love supporting businesses like New Seasons Market, Barleans, Woods Coffee, ElSage Designs, Toby’s Foods, Strong as a Mother, The Lights of Christmas and the list goes on and on. I am so thankful for these companies. They fit the mission of NW Healthy Mama and promoting them is a dream because it feels so genuine!
•The endless possibilities. I have ideas for NW Healthy Mama retreats, maybe a book or two, more events and so on. Even though the site has been up for about a year and a half, I still feel like I’m just sitting on an egg full of possibility.
•The guest posts! So many fabulous, interesting and talented people have contributed to this space. The numerous voices that have filled this site are such a gift!
•Being able to share what I love. Something powerful happens when people share the things that make them happy. We all have the power to shine light on the good and give each other ideas on how to live fuller, healthier and happier lives. To me, this space feels positive and I love having a spot where families come for adventure ideas, local stuff or healthy recipes.
So there you have it! Part 2, the Q&A will be up soon. If you have any questions, I’m always happy to answer them!