Perfectly Imperfect

This is the last week of the 40 day Inner Mean Girl Cleanse and I've been a little behind in posting a weekly blog. Why? Because I'm having sooo much fun hanging out with my Inner Nice Girl! I'm catching up, though. This post is all about Unrealistic Expectations....the ones we bring on ourselves...

After having children and working from home, I realized, my house can be a mess and it's OK. I don't have to live up to anyone else's expectations and can lower my own once in a while. Everything will still be there. Life will go on...and on and on...

I used to get up extra early just to put the dishes away, mop the floors and wipe down the bathroom, especially if company or a client were coming over. (Okay, so I still get up early to wipe down the bathroom, OCD tendencies...LOL) When hosting the party, everything had to be ready right on time; cooking started days before. The dogs were sent on their own play date so as not to disrupt things too much. The kids were always dressed in something cute and spunky. Thank God my parents lived close enough to help.

As a work from home parent, the battle to keep it all together was always happening: house, kids, carpool, homework, clients in and out, working at 5:00 am before the kids got up, did I say homework and more homework, theirs and mine.
SOMEBODY STOP ME!

When my husband and I were married, both having been married before, we joined households and went from 2 kids to 5 kids; sometimes we really had a mess. 5 kids with 5 friends over, well, you get the picture. Who can keep up with that. At one point they were all teenagers, doing crazy teenager things and then some...Our house was/is where the strays would land, kids and dogs alike. It was hard enough keeping snacks in the cupboard and dinner on the table, let alone worrying about whether the dishes were done or the floors were mopped. There's more to life than cleaning and working- like family game or movie night, walks to the park, meditation and visiting the ice cream store.

Today, I figure why should I mop the floors before a party when they are just going to get dirty anyway. When making dinner plans, I go for the crock pot - let it do all the cooking. (I've got a some great vegetarian recipe's if you're interested, no one will ever know the difference, not even the kids!) Today, the dogs stay put. When we host a bash, it's a play date for everyone, including our furry friends.

And since my office is still in my house, I can walk into a meeting with dog hair on my pants and don't feel like I have to explain a thing. I can write a piece with a few mistakes, because someone needed something at exactly the time I began writing, and the only ones that are judging me are the ones stuck in their own "perfect world".

The plaque on my wall reads Perfectly Imperfect...it's a great way to live!

Bliss ON!

I am participating in the Inner Mean Girl 40-Day Cleanse as a Self-Love Ambassador. To thank me for my participation, I will receive a self-love gift from the founders of the Inner Mean Girl Reform School.