imperfectionist

I want to share one thing that I've come to realize as a mom that helps me get through the day, especially when I see moms who seem to have it all together. Those moms don't really exist by the way. It's a facade.

When you're a mom, you have to learn to be an imperfectionist. Yes, it's a made up word, but I love it. When you're a single lady, you can strive to have a super clean house, perfect make-up, a sharp looking outfit that matches your purse and shoes and you may even succeed. That's totally fine because you have time...loads of time. People may even expect it of you.

But when we enter the world of mommyhood, we have to learn to lower those standards. Nothing will be perfect. A mom must settle for good enough if she wants to maintain sanity. I realize that this is harder for some than others. Some people are already natural slobs and some are so anal, they cannot stand a single crumb on their kitchen counter. But for all of us in the middle, we must strive for imperfection. If you can manage to get this mentality, I promise you will have a better attitude. Well at least you won't be stressed out and discouraged with your house, your appearance, your kids' appearance, your messy car, your lack of make-up, manicured toes and highlighted hair. Have leftovers, cereal or scrambled eggs for dinner. Who cares? This is a season. It won't last forever.

(This doesn't mean I don't dream of Mary Poppins paying me a visit and singing a song that will make the mess all go away but that is beside the point)

This time of year adds to the stress doesn't it? Not only do I need to clean the house for our annual family Christmas party but I need to decorate too?! That's okay. I'm an imperfectionist! I have a plan. I will clean only the bottom half of my house because no one is going upstairs. And I will only clean the parts that are obviously visible like the bathroom. I can't get around the fact that there will be people sitting on the toilet, looking around, inspecting the tiny little room, judging my housekeeping abilities. I will do a bit of vacuuming and dusting but I'm not getting crazy. I'm not cleaning underneath the couches and in the corners where no one looks. If they do see those dirty corners, that's okay. I have 3 kids, two dogs, a husband and a bun in the oven. 

I will not look at Pinterest even one time for Christmas decorating ideas. I don't have time to actually do anything on Pinterest anyway. Besides, overachievers are annoying. 

Just to illustrate my point, I've taken pictures of my house as it is today...a wreck. Of course it will not look like this on the day of the party (because it would make my family really uncomfortable). And my husband probably will not love that I'm showing our pigsty to all of you but hey, I feel that this is necessary. And it may make you feel better about your house. Merry Christmas!

Family room

Kitchen

Living room

Office

Bedroom