While we’re all guilty of sharing our highlight reel on social media, it’s equally important to let people see the unedited version of who you are.

Becoming a wife and mama are perhaps the two most beautiful roles I have ever been given. This does not, however, mean that these roles come without their challenges. This journey of motherhood, in particular, changes you; it changes how you approach your life and all the relationships within it. With this, we have a choice. Do we choose to display only what is beautiful, or, give people an accurate look into our lives and grow in genuine community with other men and women who may be very much facing similar situations? For me, I have always preferred the latter, but even more so as a parent, and a wife, who has had the gift of sitting in some of the deepest valleys and meeting incredible people who helped me climb atop the mountains. It would be a disservice then, to not continue to walk in honesty and raw vulnerability so that others know they too are not alone.

Why share an often unedited glimpse into the trials and tribulations I face as a wife and mother?

• So many times, mom friends and I discussed how challenging navigating motherhood can be. While it is beautiful, it can also be downright isolating at times. We are not meant to do life alone — while we choose partners to do life with, when we become parents, these roles change, and in that, it requires adjusting how relationships and growing with them. For me, I have found that being open with other parents is freeing.
• In a world obsessed with social media, it is especially easy to be hard on yourself as a parent. So often, we see the seemingly perfect lives of others and begin to doubt our own abilities, sometimes making us question who we are. While I am all for continued growth, this has to be done on your terms, not because you feel a need to keep up with another person.

I am someone who has always believed in the power of truth. While I do not speak for every parent and spouse, I take into account so many conversations with friends in their rawest moments. I have found that it is in these moments that we learn the most, grow the most, and foster our strongest relationships. A little humor also never hurts.

I want to add that I am not an expert parent and/or partner by any means. Instead, I share what I’ve learned or what has been shared with me simply so help lift that veil of the “perfect” parent and spouse, maybe helping us better ourselves along the way. This journey is filled with continuous twists and turns, a lot of temper tantrums and slaying of dragons, and a whole lot of love. Follow along for:

• Countless parenting wins and parenting fails. Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry, but we always keep it real.
• Marriage after children. Marriage is hard. Adding tiny humans into the mix along with outside responsibilities can make it easy to put your love life on the back burner. Perfect marriages do not exist, but real ones do.
• Budget friendly ideas for occupying your little humans, date nights, birthday parties, etc. Finances definitely change after kids, but we can still provide our families with amazing experiences.

I will never be the perfect parent, the perfect friend, the perfect family member, nor the perfect partner, but I have found in sharing that with others, it turns out, none of us really are. We often spend so much time judging other people or comparing ourselves, especially our marriages and parenting choices, that we forget that most likely, other people are doing the same. The perfect life is not one I will ever achieve, nor would I want to. The filters are beautiful, but the raw, unedited images are my favorite.