If you have been following along with me on my Instagram and Facebook stories, you know I just got back from an amazing vacation in Bermuda with my husband and our two oldest sons (in case you missed it, you can still see the highlight reel under the IG highlight “Bermuda”).

I can’t begin to tell you how glorious it was.  The weather was amazing, the beaches in Bermuda are otherworldly, and my kids and I are already plotting how to get my husband to take us back (believe me, it won’t be difficult…it’s THAT amazing).

And while you may think as you follow along with my highlights of the trip that it was nothing short of perfection (an easy mistake to make on social media), please let me be the first to assure you that while I didn’t post the tantrums or moments of selfishness or me coming close to losing my ever-loving mind a few times, they were also present.

Yes, shockingly, vacations with kids are simply not perfect.  Even in the most perfect location, with the people you love so dearly.  I want to be quite clear:  perfect isn’t real.  In any situation, ever.  But especially not on vacation with kids.

So why am I making it a point to share this with you?  Because I felt convicted after chatting with my sister yesterday that I had only been sharing the best of the best on social media.  And that’s what we all do, isn’t it?  I certainly wouldn’t dream of posting my kids’ worst moments (or mine!) online for the world to see, but I just want you to know that they existed.  Because I know how easy it is to look at someone’s Instagram story and think “Look how perfect that vacation is!” or “I wish my kids would be more like _______” or “I bet SHE never loses it with her kids.”

And the truth of the matter is, every time we have one of those thoughts (especially as a mom, in my own experience), it robs us of grace and inundates us with guilt.  And, as you probably already know, I’m a huge fan of grace and NOT at all a fan of guilt.  Especially mom guilt.  Girl, bye.

So I want to be honest with you.  All the time, totally honest and transparent.  As much as I possibly can.  I would never want my social media feed to contribute to your mom guilt.  Or FOMO.  Or anything else like that.

Were there magical moments on our trip?  One hundred percent yes!  And THOSE are what I’ll choose to remember; those are what I’ll keep reminding my husband of when we talk about this blessed trip.  Like my son telling the waiter in the fancy dining room, “For my appetizer I’ll have chicken noodle soup, and for my entry, I’ll have the grilled cheese, please.”  Or my husband and I somehow bringing up Bob Ross (I think when my husband referred to something as a “happy accident”) and the kids asking who he was, leading me to show them a YouTube video of Bob Ross painting a misty meadow, and them proceeding to request Bob Ross videos before bed each night.  Or my sons’ faces as they danced and floated on the waves in beautiful Horseshoe Bay. Or how they wanted to record things in their travel journals each and every day.  Or their faces when we pulled up to the dock right next to our huge cruise ship, and their voices when they asked if we could go exploring on the ship each day. The list goes on and on.  I’ll be forever grateful for this time away with them.

This post is really just a reminder that life isn’t perfect.  But really, would we want it to be?  After the tantrums were calmed (both child and adult), there were beautiful moments again.  Moments where my kids would be totally delightful and my husband and I would catch each other’s eye and grin.  “See?” I told him.  “This.  This is what we have to focus on.”

Because at the end of the day, my kids are 6 and 9.  No way are they going to behave perfectly, all the time.  And also, I’m 36 and my husband 37.  No way are we going to behave perfectly, all the time.

But as I said before, perfect is overrated.  And non-existent.

So I’ll take this band of perfectly imperfect boys as long as they’ll have me, and I wouldn’t have them any other way.

Thanks for letting me share my imperfect heart with you today, my friends.  Much love to you!

P.S. Get your FREE guide to reducing negative self-talk here!