Life is Supposed to be Imperfect--Wise Thoughts from a Mother

I recently discovered a show Hannah Help Me! and I signed up for her newsletter. Her thoughts were perfect ones for a Monday and so important for all mothers to remember. Basically she debunks the myth of perfection that we foolishly tie ourselves to. When we do that, it becomes a stumbling block for all of us at some point.

A few weeks ago, my sisters threw me a baby shower. In preparation for the shower my very good husband had a goal to hang crown moulding before the shower. Hanging that stuff has a definite learning curve and Sam found himself at a standstill at 11pm the night before. What was up looked great but it was definitely not done.

I was so proud of his effort. He was definitely disappointed to not have finished and very frustrated with the challenge itself. He asked me if I wanted him to take it all down for the party. It only took me a second to firmly say, "No way, I am proud of the work you have done. Keep it up, it will fun to be able to see better if we will like it or not." BUT in that second, I had a flashback of myself at a time where I probably would have so frustrated at the unfinished, imperfect look of the project that I would have selfishly asked him to take down the good work he had already done so well. I would have put the impressions of others before my husband and I would have fallen flat on my face on that stumbling block. Fast forward to today and Hannah's Weekly Newsletter.

We were watching the opening ceremonies for the winter Olympics and everything went off without a single hitch - up until it was time to light the torch. Four legs were supposed to rise up out of the floor and form a base for the torch cauldron. Unfortunately, only three were operating correctly. There stood four Canadian superstars waiting to light the torch, and waiting, and waiting. Finally, they just decided to forgo perfection, go with the three that were functioning correctly, and just light the darn thing.

I'm sure there were plenty of people that considered this little hiccup a failure. Instead of focusing on everything that went right, they were consumed with that one little thing that went wrong. They were probably the same people that kept stalling and stalling, waiting hopefully until everything was operating perfectly to light the torch.

But necessity finally won out. Someone who was working behind the scenes (it was probably a mom) said, "forget about that fourth leg and just light the torch already!" And they did. And it was a success. Not because it went off perfectly, but because the torch was lit.

Not everything is going to go perfectly in life. And if you're a mom, that's an iron-clad guarantee. There are going to be bumps in the road. Your child gets ill the day before a vacation. Dog poop gets tracked in on the new carpet. Your washing machine dies just when you paid your last bill and you only have twenty-seven dollars in your account. You could easily focus on these challenges and let them get you down, frozen in your tracks and waiting until life is perfect before moving forward.

This is when you fail. It's not the dips in the road that are the failures; it's hanging out in them, waiting until the road evens out before you take a step. Life is supposed to be imperfect. That's what gives it depth, volume, and character. When you are faced with things going wrong, focus on everything that is going right and keep moving forward. You become stronger and smarter with each step you take - perfect or not!

Don't you just love that? I know I sure do.

I am becoming stronger and smarter with each step that I take. Perfect or not.

I also think that I like myself more and more the more I allow myself the leeway to be imperfect as I learn and grow. I stress myself out less. I am sure I stress my family out less as well. That is my focus for the week or the next month for that matter. My resolve will be tried bigtime as I find myself HAVING to rest and recuperate instead of jumping in doing all the stuff that "must" be done.