What Is The Story?

o yesterday we did a thing . . .we did a brand shoot for Wildflower. I say brand because Wildflower is more than a truck of clothes, it is a brand. My vision for the brand is to have great clothes, an incredible shopping experience, and to empower YOU to know YOUR worth. That said, I want you to look at the photo. Really look at it. What is the story you are creating about it?

I don't know about you but I am a really great story creator. I type this while laughing because, though I do believe I am a great story creator, it may not be what is truly going on. We are so great at creating a story that makes us feel lesser than. A story where we compare ourselves to the photo and what we think is going on. I'm sure you have seen the comments and memes about not comparing your reality to somebody's facebook. Most people do not share all their junk on social media but you know all of yours. We create a story that the person we are looking at has it all together and can do all the things flawlessly while we are a hot mess.

So what is the story you created in your mind about me in this photo? Do you want to know the hot mess reality? Here ya go....

I have had a vision for this shoot and so I spent the past week attempting to execute. Yes, let's start with past week. Though I am a planner, I do a lot on the fly. I pulled this shoot together in a few days. I was thinking about it for awhile but the actual execution what last minute (probably the first recipe for challenge). Technically I "should" have done a fall shoot way earlier but it was not fall till last week right? LOL. So my vision involves my circle of people. At the last minute 1 of those people had to leave town, another one hates being in photos so she will cheer on from the sidelines, one agrees to shoot but was uncomfortable the whole time cause she also hates the attention, another loves it and agrees, and my daughter agrees but also hates it. Did I mention that the word for 2020 is pivot? Rethinking how this will look I throw it together. Now, keep in mind my husband still has to drive the truck due to my brain injury almost 2 years ago from car accident and I schedule this shoot while he is in the final day of a huge launch at work. How's this story going at this point? Let's continue...oh! I almost forgot my brilliance earlier in the day. I decided I should leave my hair sorta dirty so I could curl it. So I decided to use dry shampoo. As I was halfway through spraying my head I realized I was using hair spray. I mean for pete's sake people. Just thought you would enjoy that little detail!

3:30 rolls around and hubby is buried in launch so cannot drive truck to shoot. Um . .. it's a truck shoot so truck is kinda critical. I throw outfits in car for the ladies on the fly and we rush to shoot. Thankfully, he manages to escape long enough to get the truck to us (I'm sure you have figured out by now that there are many things missing that are needed so yay for the truck arriving). He literally sits at a table for the next couple of hours working while all of this shoot craziness is going on in the background (yes, got photos of this too!). We can take a moment to give him serious praise and thank you for being the amazing human he is! Even his boss is a Wildflower fan!!

Was the story you created close? When we get to this photo you are looking at. I was packing up. Carrying the plant, computer and phone to pack up and head to outside shots. By this point I was a bit less of a hot mess and, quite honestly, was having fun with my friends and my daughter. Thankfully I have learned the hard way to pivot daily and roll with it. Might take a minute to regroup but just a minute. I personally have also learned to chuckle at the story I am creating in my head knowing that there is so much more to the story. 

My point? My point is to remind you that we are all a hot mess most of the time. We are all trying to figure out this crazy world we live in. Nobody has it all together. We fail and fail over and over. AND we succeed again and again. So next time you see that influencer looking perfect, remember the editing and craziness behind the scenes. Remember that their dog threw up all over the house and their kid colored the walls with sharpies. When you see that mom at school all done up at drop off (yes, you need to think back to when kids attended school)...I can only imagine what it took to get to that point in the morning. Not one single person has it all together. None of us. None of us has a perfect life with the perfect family and the perfect house on the perfect street.

Could we give each other grace? Could we cheer each other on? Could we remember that the woman who looks like she has it all together is probably the one who could most use a hug?

Love you beautiful wildflower! You are smart, strong, and brave. You do you this week in whatever hot mess needs to be done AND do it with grace for yourself and others. Cheers until next time....