Not that I have to tell anyone this, but just in case – and you are wondering if it is real – it isn’t. Reality TV? It isn’t. Marketing (product and model) photography – after the Photoshop treatment, is not real. And No, neither is Social Media. You can’t live your life as Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram makes it look… so easy and simple. The recipes, craft projects and home decorating in Real Simple aren’t even that simple either.

To be frank, neither is the constant reminder that you don’t spend enough time with your family – and on your last breath you wish you had spent more time together – that isn’t actually possible either. Not, unless you move it all to the country and by that I mean an-other country altogether, where you farm for your food and you have absolutely no choice to spend every waking minute with your family, because if you don’t all pull it together and work as a team, you won’t survive.

So, you can pick the kids up early from school once or twice a year, you can do “nothing” on Saturday afternoon but what they want to do, you can unplug, for a bit and you can take vacation for a while, you can even (if you are offered this gift) take sabbatical and stay away from work for a month, or 3 or an entire year… but presumably, you are still supposed to be doing something else. Like writing a thesis, or a book or doing research that you would not have time to do along with your “regular” work.

Real life is not having enough time to do everything you want to do… that is why we have holidays and hopes and dreams and inspirations and hopefully, you enjoy what you are doing at least some of the time. Because, it is real and unless you are independently wealthy… you have to work, clean the house, cook meals, pay bills, do homework and take out the rubbish. This is real. Just make the most of it… until you take your final breath.

~ Dawn aka Hat Girl