"Today I will be classy and elegant.... or I will spill food on my shirt and trip over things."
That quote makes me laugh, because it is so true. You see, I'm so perfectly human. What I mean by that is that I'm the farthest thing away from perfect. And just when I get into the illusion of perfectionism, I do something that reminds me of how imperfect I am.
I love to look at decorating magazines, books, etc. I dream of being the tuscan version of Martha Stewart. I especially love the look of the perfect tuscan living room with perfect white furniture flawlessly placed to encourage the best conversations. A little like this:
And this is what causes my fantasies of the perfect white furniture to die:
This is Keagan's bike after he returned from riding the trails with his buddies. You can only imagine what he looked like. He had mud caked in his ears.
And if we are being totally honest, these are a few photos I took around the house this morning to show you what I find almost every morning:
Keagan's bathroom
Keagan's room (at least today I can see most of the floor)
The basement, known as the man cave, where Keagan likes to hang out
And really, I know that I've shown you the messes that Keagan caused, but in all honesty I have no business having a white couch myself. Lets face it, I can't even wear a white shirt for 2 hours before I've managed to dribble something on it or back into something dirty. To top it all off, plants come to my house to die, a very slow and miserable death.
This is an Aerogrow garden. It automatically grows your herbs for you. It has a fancy lighting and watering system. It has a growth light that turns itself off and on. My neighbor has the same system. Her garden is amazing. Mine? Epic Fail.
This is the Meyer lemon tree I bought this year. It is supposed to be the easiest fruit tree to grow in a planter. It has made lemons, but they have not turned yellow. And, all the leaves are starting to fall off. I think I killed it. Nice.
I tell you, all this striving for perfectionism is tiring! I could spend 24 hours a day working on making things appear perfect. Perfectionism, at least for me, is an exhaustive process.
"We were born to be real, not perfect."
So here I am, in all my imperfect glory. Showing photos of some of the imperfect parts of my life. Battling with the part of me that wants only to show the good stuff, the flawless stuff, the ideal, picture-perfect life. But that picture-perfect life isn't real. That wall of perfectionism may keep some from critiquing me (doubtful), but it also keeps people from seeing and knowing the real me. It also keeps people from feeling like they can be themselves around me as well.
So, if you are looking at someone and thinking, "Their life is perfect, they are perfect, etc.." know this:
"No one is perfect, that's why pencils have erasers."
Do not let the idea of "perfectionism" hold you back. I've heard people say, "My house isn't as perfect as so and so's, that's why I don't invite people over." They aren't there to see your house, they are there to see you. Don't be afraid to be real with people. It may make you more vulnerable, but it also makes you more relatable.
I don't have a perfect life, but I do have a good life. I'm not perfect, just forgiven. I still battle that part of me that wants everything to be perfect every day. Luckily for me, that battle is easily conquered by the millions of imperfect things/actions that I do every day.
I'll leave you with one last thought. Martha Stewart may have sold the idea of having the perfect life, but she went to prison because she is an imperfect human. I'm not judging her, I'm just stating the fact that the icon for perfectionism is not, in fact, perfect herself. Just like me. And now that I've typed that last sentence, a part of me is dying to add in parenthesis the line (except I'm not a convicted felon). Oh Lord, help me and forgive me.
Do everything to the best of your ability. But remember this quote:
"I will hold myself to a standard of grace, not perfection."
No comments:
Post a Comment