Perfectly Imperfect

 

Our little godson had a birthday recently, and his mom texted me on the big day, disappointed in herself that she wasn’t able to have a grand party for him. She’s just about to give birth again, and this has not been an easy pregnancy for her. We had planned to see them this past weekend and celebrate his birthday, but she was in the hospital, so we postponed it until she’s feeling better.

            Though I’m not a mom, I can imagine I would feel really sad if I couldn't give my child the birthday celebration I wanted to give – regardless of the reason. I mean, I remember the year I had to redo my whole plan for Ryan’s birthday, just because of the weather. That was disappointing enough, and he didn’t even mind the change in plans! He still had a fun birthday, and he still felt loved and celebrated. That was what mattered most, and that was what I reminded the birthday boy's mama this week. Her son is still little. All he wants is to have a fun day with some treats. 

            We’ve taught ourselves (or maybe social media has taught us) that everything has to be perfect all the time, and it just doesn’t. Oh, the freedom we could enjoy if we truly embraced that.

            I’ve been working to learn that imperfect is still beautiful. I’ve also been working to remind myself of my sources. WHO said something wasn’t perfect? Does that source even matter?

            When we moved to this home, we were able to bring with us all the curtains we have used in our last two houses. Even though our windows have been different sizes every time, the curtains still work, which I find to be a lovely blessing. There was, however, an extra window in this house, so we got some curtains for it, and they were a little shorter than I wanted. I remember the day we hung them up, and I was disappointed to see how short they hung from the rod above. Unfortunately, in that pattern, the ones we chose were the longest option, and I really, really loved the pattern.

            I ultimately decided to use them even though they were “too short.” Maybe professional decorators would feel a little sick walking in and seeing them in all their highwater glory, but you know what? We love them. I don’t even see the “too short” anymore when I look at the room. They might be imperfect from a designer’s perspective, but we love them. And this is our home. Our space. It matters that it fits us, not a magazine. 

            I've said it here in this space before, but I think we can all use the reminder today. We don’t live in a perfect world. We don’t always respond perfectly when people hurt our feelings. We don’t always have great hair days. The lawn doesn’t always look like a golf course, the car can sometimes use a good wash, cakes can turn out a little lopsided, and we might forget an important date now and then.

            It’s okay.

            It’s okay to be perfectly imperfect.