Cute song about real-life Americans should make everyone in a 'messy '80s home' feel proud
"Sometimes it’s a mess and sometimes it is clean. But typically, it’s someplace in between."
A non-aesthetic kitchen
There has always been pressure on parents, especially mothers, to have a beautiful home and well-behaved, well-dressed kids. However, it’s a lot harder these days because social media presents unrealistic images of perfection at every turn. Whether it’s the mom influencers making everyone look bad or the folks you know on Facebook who only take a photo when everything is perfect, it's easy to feel like you’re falling short of modern-day expectations.
That’s why a TikTok by Emily Vondracheck, the mother of five in the popular Vondy Family, resonates with many people. In the video, she plays guitar and sings about living in a #NormalHome that hasn’t changed much since 1984. But the heartwarming thing is that even though she lives in a house that's a bit outdated, she still loves every minute of it.
“I am very proud of this home and all the love and mess it holds. We are blessed beyond measure and so very fortunate #normalhouse,” she captions the video.
@thevondyfam Repost. We’ve got plenty of new dents, scratches and stains since posting this last year but also an abundance of memories. I am very proud of this home🥹and all the love and mess it holds. We are blessed beyond measure and so very fortunate❤️#normalhouse
Song lyrics:
Not every home is minimalistic
Not every home is new and clean
Not every home may look like what’s showcased on your screen
You see, sometimes homes still look like what they did in ‘84
And this one’s got oak cabinets and green carpet on the floor
But this is normal, too, crayon on the walls, no place for shoes
The appliances don’t match and every surface has a scratch
Got stuff shoved in every drawer
In every closet, hey look, there’s more,
Sometimes it’s a mess and sometimes it is clean
But typically, it’s someplace in between
But what makes a home a home is not the things that we compare
Yeah, the most important thing is the love that we share
At the end of the video, her husband comes in for a right-in-time kiss and we see what really matters in the Vondy Family home.
People in the comments loved how Emily celebrated the typical American house that looks like the place they call home. “You have no idea how much I needed to hear this today. Thank you!” one commenter wrote. “This literally made me cry because the mess stresses my husband, but I told him we will miss it when it's just us,” another added. Some added that it’s a home where they would feel comfortable. “It looks like a place I would feel safe. You can tell there are kids who feel comfortable there, who know the space belongs to them too,” one person wrote. “That there is a napping home. Where when you come over you feel so at home you take a nap!” another added.
Emily’s video seems to have started a #NormalHouse trend on TikTok, where people give tours of their homes that don’t look like they will ever be featured in Better Homes and Gardens. These homes have laundry hanging in the living room, carpet that needed to be replaced in the mid-’90s and faded furniture with chips and scratches.
@sarahbondsofficial Normal, non-aesthetic home tour for a family of 4. #normalhouse #regularmom #housetour #homedecor #homedecorideas
@kelliechandler2 I love seeing the new, millon dollar homes but it’s also nice to see relatable, lived in, smaller homes too. #underconsumption #smallhomes #relatablemom #relatablecontent #momtok #fyp #trending
Life is hard enough without the pressure to be perfect. Kudos to Emily for her “deinfluncing” video, which reminds everyone what the average person’s home looks like. Having mismatched appliances and being the last home in America to have a hunter-green carpet is fine. All that matters is that the house has its most important feature: love.