Lately, I’ve been posting on social media the good stuff that has happened to me. And much good has happened recently. My book ranked #4 on Amazon and my art is displayed at BWI airport. I won an award for one of my photographs. Yes, all good. Great. Amazing stuff.

But remember that most of what we post on Facebook are the highlight reels of our life. Sunsets, evenings by the pool, days at the beach. Baby and wedding announcements. Occasional posts about the death of a loved one or requests for prayers make their way. But mostly, it’s the good stuff.

Here’s what you don’t see:

The bedsore my husband has had for over a week that I have to dress everyday. At night, I have to prop him up on his side leaving the wound exposed to get air. During the day, we worry about it getting worse as he sits on it and it opens up again.

While getting used to his new shower wheelchair, he fell out of it twice the first week he had it.

The places we want to go to together are not always easily accessible, therefore we make decision that either I go alone or know that if we go together, it will be a lot of work to get him into the location we are going to, be it a house or a restaurant.

The exhaustion I feel at 10:00pm when I am completely spent and Arthur needs something.

It’s so easy to envy someone’s talent and even easier to compare our journey with theirs. Social Media makes is look like everyone is more successful, has more followers, has reached the pinnacle of their lives.

Although I’ve reached both my dreams of being an author and an artist, I have not met my financial goals. I still have a mortgage. Much of our money goes to medical bills. At 65, I’m still working part-time outside the home. Although I am closer, I haven’t reached my definition of success.

And I look at you – retired you, traveling the world you, sitting by the pool you, heading to the beach you. You who have partners you can travel with and you who have big homes. I see those who have “made it” as speakers and those who’s art work consistently sells.

It’s easy to look out and envy what others have. Look beyond and you’ll see the years spent learning their trade or the years it took to write a book (six for me!) Or you who worked thirty years at the same job so you could retire with a pension. I have no business envying you because that’s a price I didn’t want to pay.

This is my life. I still have dreams and goals. I’m not complaining. I’m excited that I still have hopes and dreams.

I put the highlight reel out there because those are the bright lights that keep me going. And, I hope, inspire you to keep going too!

Angela DiCicco

theitaliangrandmama.com