Everybody wants to know how to live a happy life. Am I right? Before I tell you the big secret to life, let me ask you this.

Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to live lives that are shiny and successful? Even more, why do we feel like that’s what we should project when we all know that real life is messier than that?

Here’s the truth.

We’re doing ourselves a disservice and, on top of that, we’re letting others believe that their lives are somehow less if they don’t look the same.

Guess what? That picture of me on top of the mountain that I climbed? It’s real. I climbed the freaking mountain with my family like I’ve done multiple times before and I hope to do many times in the future. Guess what else? I am 40 years old, slightly overweight, and not exactly what you would call graceful. So the hike itself is not always as flattering as the snapshot at the top. AND THAT’S OKAY.

I’m not sorry that I look like an elderly mountain goat trying to go navigate the rocks while the youngest of the herd watches carefully. Here’s why.

My kid doesn’t look at me and see that I’m not Insta perfect. She never once laughed at my efforts or said I look fat in my leggings or mentioned that the jacket around my waist adds extra bulk to my backside. She didn’t comment on how slow I went or make fun of me that time I nearly slipped.

Do you know why?

Because she doesn’t care that I’m perfect- she cares that I show up.

I SHOW UP.

We make that hike together a few times a year.

My daughter stops to pick up frogs.

My husband always cringes when one of us gets to close to the edge.

We laugh about how our thighs burn on those old CCC trails that go straight up a rock face.

When we need a break, we take a break.

Then we keep going and we do wonderful, awesome, life-filling things together.

Me and my people.

That’s the kind of life I’m going to live. Messy, awkward, imperfect, and wonderful!

My life isn’t shiny and happy. My life is messy and happy and I’ll use my voice to shout it from the mountain top so that you know you can be messy and imperfect, too. You just have to show up. That, my friends, is how to live a happy life.

*Follow me on Facebook for more messy, happy goodness like this!