Less Perfectionism-More Peace (And Joy!)

October 28, 2014
It has taken almost 22 years of mothering but I think I'm finally getting this "less perfectionism" thing. Over the years I have been slowly, slowly, S L O W L Y working at letting go of my perfectionist personality. I do believe there is a place for order, organization and cleanliness. It’s just that when it’s taken too far it robs me of joy, which in turn robs my kids (and husband) of joy. I’m so sorry to my older kids that it's taken me years to get it!

Last week was my baby's 4th birthday and she has a serious love for all things Doc McStuffins! As popular as that show is I could not find any great cake decorating kits with that theme. I’m no cake decorator but I've done a few decent ones over the years. I can usually get some basic ideas from pictures and create something from there. This year, nothing but Pinterest perfection! I’m not so much into all that fondant and fancy. So I thought flowers! Doc has a cute pink flower on her headband, so I decided to go with that. Only the flowers would not work for anything. Not so long ago I would have come unglued over even a simple cake not working. I mean my kids need a picture of a beautiful perfect cake in their scrapbook to show them how much I love them, right? NOT! Boy did I have it all wrong. More likely my kids will see those cakes in their albums and think, oh I remember Mom not letting me near the kitchen when she made that and she was so grumpy and  frustrated! That is not what I want my kids to remember. Last week, as I was decorating the cake and a little frustration began to settle in, I looked over to see a precious face smiling at me from the other side of the counter. My sweet girl said, “It’s OK mommy. Can we just put the candles on?” So simple! She just wanted to decorate her cake with her little Doc McStuffins candles. That's all she wanted out of that cake. So she climbed up and set to work. A couple of her sisters were watching and cringing, hands ready to grab and fix her disorderly candles, but she continued, smiling and happy as can be. I sat back and watched... and felt joy. I was a little stunned that I wasn't freaking out over the cake! But my wise little sweetheart reminded me of what was important that day. These moments are fleeting and I am learning to grab hold of them and enjoy them as often as I can.

God’s grace allowed me to have a little glimmer of hope that I can be a little more relaxed; the most important things are enjoying the most important people, not time spent on perfect cakes. And look at that face!  How could I not feel happy seeing her joy?

I know it's not the greatest picture, but remember, we're not going for perfect here! ;)   

My prayer for us all this week is that we find more joy and peace in letting go of perfectionism. 

God bless,
Jen