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less than perfect

Aoccdrnig to a reseearch at an Elingsh
uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the
ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng
is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a toatl mses and you can
sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae
we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the
wrod as a wlohe


OK, I know that I am guilty of a typo or two (or five in every post)....but I am not drunk. And if we are friends in real life some of you might think that is just one of my usual text messages.
But it is on purpose and I have a point. Promise. The previous paragraph was a slide from my physics lecture yesterday. And even though I was talking about vision and light and lenses and optical illusions, This particular slide warmed my heart a little and taught me a lot more about perception.

I have never struggled with perfection.
But sometimes I think maybe I should.
That maybe good moms never skip bath time and just let their kid fall asleep on the couch because it is easier.
And good teachers never have typos or lose papers.
And good wives actually know how to run a vacuum cleaner.
And good friends think before they speak.

Instead I take shortcuts and have slip ups and go through the drive through and do completion grades and forget birthdays.
My car and my desk and my house are a mess.
I’m not afraid to go out in public in my pjs and have just never really understood the whole super-mom, super-christian, super anything façade.
Most of the time I am just usually hoping that my fly isn’t down.

But a lot of people do.
And they are pretty convincing at it.
That they have it together.
That they can do it all.
That they know how to use a round brush and apply eyeliner.
And when it comes right down to it.
I let myself believe that they are better than me.
And I let myself feel a little second rate.
Like a dented can or damaged toy in the discount bin.

But maybe their perfect is just an illusion. Like all the rest of the slides I showed my class today.
And maybe all those details matter a whole lot less than we think they do.
And the paragraph above. Almost every single word is misspelled and it still makes sense.
You don’t need perfection to make your point.
Not even close.
You just have to get a few important letters right.
And in real life, as opposed to grammar.
Maybe there is just one thing we have to get right.
Which is love.
And if I can do that well…
Then I can keep my messy car and my messy house and my wrinkled pants.
Because what really matters aren't the letters or the details, but the whole.
And loving with your whole heart is about as perfect as a girl can get.
Even if her fly is down.

Comments

MoserUpdates said…
I AM a perfectionist with regards to myself. I heard a great quote about a month ago: Excellence isn't perfection, it's giving it your best.
mommaof3 said…
I try really hard to be real and transparent and honest.

But maybe, like you, I feel a little second rate on occasion, when I don't measure up to some made up ruler.

I think I'll go check my zipper.

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