Pin Stress is For Real

Photo Courtesy Lolly Jane

I often refer to Pinterest as The Land of People Who Are Smarter Than I. Being a person who lives for creativity and inspiration, it's the world's largest proverbial candy store for me. However, with Back To School looming in front of us, my pin feed has turned into one giant ball of intimidation. Colorful photos boast titles that promise to make you the coolest of the cool. Back to School ideas that you absolutely MUST try are everywhere. Popsicles wishing all the students a cool school year, teacher photo frames made from pencils, survival kits, lunch notes, and bento boxes that are sure to impress have officially taken over the world.

Pinterest is a beautiful thing, but the pressure to perform for our children and their teachers has only fueled the fire that already exists amongst parents to compete and creates a whole new level of sanctimommy that you were sure that you wouldn't have to face again once you got past the breastfeeding vs bottle feeding and disposable vs cloth diapers stage. Suddenly, without even knowing what happened, you're measuring your worth as a parent by how many unique, amazing, and creative ways you can impress a classroom full of children and the teacher who is there to help them learn.

Why is it that parents, especially women, are so insistent on turning everything into a competition? We look around ourselves, and we see that Jimmy's mom sends love notes every day in his lunchbox, so we assume that our child doesn't feel as loved as Jimmy. We notice that Matthew's mom always looks incredibly beautiful, so our child must feel embarrassed when we come in looking like we just came off a three day bender. Then there is Alyssa's mom, who works out two hours a day, everyday, and we realize our child must be ashamed that we are still wearing the same size that we wore when we were nine months pregnant...four years ago. And let's not forget that one parent that every child in the school knows and adores, because she is ALWAYS there. In fact, you're fairly certain that she secretly lives there, taking showers in the sinks of the girl's hall bathroom, but you can't actually prove it. We become so consumed with comparing ourselves to everyone around us, that we lose sight of who we are and where our talents and treasures lie.

Pinterest is a tool, in which many wonders and ideas lie within. No one person could ever do even one percent of the projects that exist on that site. And frankly, it's not designed to be conquered the way that you conquered Super Mario Bros level by level in 1991. Pinterest is a catalog. When you sort through Amazon, you don't feel pressure and stress to buy every single item on their page to prove your worth. You pick and choose the items that are best suited to your taste, style, and budget, and you leave the rest there for someone else to purchase to suit her taste, style, and budget. We all need to be treating Pinterest, and everything else in our little parenting world, the exact same way.

Sift through Pinterest and find the items that you will actually enjoy doing - not just the things that "look pretty" or are clever. If you find yourself overwhelmed, it actually is okay to delete pins that you think are unachievable for you or are just not interesting to you any longer. It is okay to look at a pin and think, "Well isn't that cute?" and to keep scrolling. Pinterest is there to enhance the areas where you are strong, and to improve any areas that you want to work on. It is not intended to create a competition or pressure to perform like a trained monkey. Pinterest is a resource, and it is perfectly fine to use it as just that - a supplement to what you're already doing anyway.

As we all move towards Back to School, as with everything else in your life, come to realize that your kids love you just as you are. You don't have to "MAKE ALL THE THINGS!" for them to be proud of you. So keep up the amazing work, don't worry about the fact that you're in sweats in the pick up line for the third day in a row, and nevermind that back to school crafting noise if it doesn't fit your agenda. You just keep doing you, Mama. You've got this.