I should never read magazines.....

So as a lazy Sunday after noon goes, this one was great....kinda. The kids were sleeping and I decided to catch up on my magazine subscriptions today. I went through InStyle cover to cover in about an hour and then followed up with Family Circle.

I dove into InStyle head first. About five minutes into it, I realize that number one, two thirds of the magazine are just advertisements, and number two, they all make me sad. Sad because, after two kids, there is no way under the sun that I would look like Scarlett Johansen and also because in the economy that we are in right now, why on earth do these magazines encourage women to spend $1400 on a pair of Christian Loubiton heels or $5000 on a Marc Jacobs handbag?? Then you turn to the articles of celebrity interviews, telling people how glamorous and delightful their lives are. Yeah, I really can just jet off to St Tropez like Drew Barymore. You then turn to the helpful hints and trend section. Keep in mind, all the helpful hints are geared at making you spend money to look glamorous and red carpet ready. Yes, because I, mother of two, need to look red carpet ready while taking a trip to the local Walmart. What ever happened to being cute and stylish, and making things for the real woman?

So after an hour of frustration, I turned to the Family Circle. I thought to myself, yes, this is a real mom's magazine with things that I can relate too. Ahh, I open the pages to find an article detailing how I am failing my kids by not quilting with them, another talking about younger children becoming more sexually active, and step by step directions on how to wear outfits from day to night. I close this magazine about 20 minutes into it feeling like I have failed my children, I'm under-prepared for "the sex talk" that I will need to have in ten years and thinking that the only day to night clothes that I own are scrubs, since I can do all my kid stuff in them and you can also wear them as pajamas.

Then I had to take a look introspectively and think about what just occurred in the last 90 minutes. The media has become so prevalent in pushing this agenda on us, that you forget sometimes how bad it really is. Buy more than you can afford, do it all or your not the perfect mother, oh, and don't forget to look like Heidi freaking Klum while doing it. Wow, this is not reality. And really, can you find real reality anywhere in the media anymore? Watching television, there is a "reality" show called the bachelor. Since when is it reality that 25 women fight over one man and he takes them to Spain?? You listen to the radio and its filled with pop music talking about things that I cannot relate to. (I'm a slave for you?!) And then there is news and magazines. They are full of half truths, convenient truths, and out and out lies.

It made me re-promise to myself that I will stay focused on MY reality. My family, my friends, my business- these are my reality. I wish that as a community we could all stay focused on the real things in life and not get distracted by what others tell you is reality.

I'm officially off my soap box.