Dear Perfection

You are not what I need. I don’t want/need my husband, children, or life to be perfect. So why do you creep in when I’m in the middle of things. I don’t want or need to be perfect either. There’s nothing about perfection that doesn’t eventually crack. That’s the problem with perfection. It’s easier to see the flaws. Especially because perfection is so hard to maintain. I don’t even want to strive for perfection. I just want complete, progress. Hell, I’ll take “moving in the right direction” over perfection. Perfect is boring. Mistakes, cracks, imperfections–these “flaws” are what make artists, genius, beauty. Where did we ever get this notion that we must be perfect? Where did I get it? Was it my mother’s critiques? My grandmother’s? Was it the fact that I never felt good enough? Isn’t that where insecurity comes from? From not living up to the image someone tells you you’re supposed to be? “You’d be so pretty if…” Well, I didn’t, so I was never complete. Never perfect. But I am me, and (cliche) that’s all I want to be.

May 2020

So often we place the idea of perfection on a pedestal. We often place people on pedestals and are surprised when they fall. To err is human. When we set these lofty expectations for people and ourselves, with no room for error, it is impossible to meet those expectations. It is much easier to stay grounded in truth and leave sitting on pedestals to works of art sculpted by genius.

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Thank you for continuing this journey with me.