WONDEROAK

If ever there was a time to stop pretending, it’s now.

I mean we’re all growing eyebrows like Johnny Rose anyway, might as well let everything else hang out too. Bring on the love handles, the grey hairs sprouting like invasive species along my part, and the buzz cut my husband keeps swearing he’s going to give himself (prayers pls).

I don’t know, but I think at the same time we’re letting our outsides be al’ natural we might as well release our hearts too be al’ natural too. It’s a great time to embrace real in ourselves and others like never before. Might as well toss all filters and let our crazy out, because pretending was always exhausting anyway.

I think we have a choice today to be authentic in our process (which is like collectively deciding to wear sweats till this is over and a big friggin sigh of relief). This season is just hard, it’s just messy, and we have to accept the fact that NONE of us are going to do it gracefully. I’m not going to, you’re not going to, Aunt Gertie isn’t going to, neighbor Bob isn’t going to, and your friend from college isn’t going to. None of us are getting out of this lookin’ pretty. Let yourself off the hook and then let everyone else off too.

I’ve heard again and again on memes and blog posts that when this is all over we should decide what we’ll bring with us into our future. My favorite is how my friend Amy Weatherly put it, “Everything in our life has spilled out and is scattered in bits and pieces all over the ground and it’s up to us to decide which pieces deserve to be picked up again and which pieces deserve to be left behind.”

Before y’all get any funny ideas… I do plan to get my hair done still mmkay? I will be blonde until I’m 80 unless this thing lasts too long in which case I will be grey in August, but the point is blonde is coming with me.

But, there are some things I do hope I leave behind.

Waist bands for example, and also saying “I’m good!” when I’m not in fact good.

Underwire bras can go and trying to “keep up with the Joneses aka Instagram accounts that make life look perfect” can also be left behind.

A part of my “recreational shopping at Target” budget can be forgone as well as busyness for the sake of busyness.

The main thing though? Pretending can GO, in all it’s shapes and all it’s forms.

Pretending is tired and we’re over it.

I’ve woken up some mornings and been a queen of quarantine. I’ve also woken up some mornings mad at every one and everything and surviving off of eating a ridiculous amount of carbs. It’s time to drop the masks. It was always time, but it’s especially time  today.

Who’s with me?