Just in case you were thinking I am perfect, I am pretty far from it. I don’t have all the answers. I have 2,905 unopened emails. I forget my coupons when I go to the store. At times I have gone a few days without a shower. I am always forgetting my passwords. I have a potty mouth sometimes. My whites are dingy. I only wash windows when I move. My home has a slight film of dust.
But wait, there’s more. I sneak m&m’s at night when no one is looking. Oh and just this morning I spilled a bit of my coffee right on top of my computer keyboard. Yeah, so my computer is sitting in a rice “bath” while I write this blog on my daughter’s computer. I would rather clean a toilet with my bare hands then go to the gym some days. I can’t even begin to get myself to drink 8 glasses of water a day. I misplace important papers more often than not. Get this, I have even lost the hard drive of my old computer… just can’t find it anywhere! Honestly, what is wrong with me?
Actually, nothing at all. Because while I’m nowhere near perfect, I recognize perfection when I see it. I once ate a plum that rocked my world. I stood in the redwood forest and cried. I have skied alone on a freshly snow-covered cross-country trail. I saw a double rainbow appear right before my eyes. I walked under a huge cherry blossom tree on a breezy day and it snowed pink upon me. I ate an entire sourdough boule in San Francisco. I walked the stone cobbled streets of Italy.
I’ve come close to perfection a few times myself. I created a paint color in 2001 by mistake that I love so much that I have used it in every single home since. My cheesecake is pretty gosh darn perfect. Our dog would be perfect if not for his “dog” breath. As you know I think my home is perfect, except for our plumbing woes!
Here I am helping my sister paint her New York City Apartment in my almost perfect paint color!
So here is what truly baffles me. I don’t expect perfection from my friends or family. Not even from my children and husband. Yet, for some reason I expect it from myself? When anyone else falls short I am right there to build them up. Encouraging them to pick up the pieces and move forward. Everyone makes mistakes. A mistake is only a mistake if you don’t learn from it. Nobody is perfect. Don’t be so hard on yourself! Yet when I make a mistake, I am my own worse critic. In fact, I am downright mean to myself. I ridicule myself. I shake my head in disappointment. I replay the errors of my ways in an endless loop. If I treated others how I treat myself I would be all alone in this world. So I have decided that today I am going to try and be kinder to me, since I am perfectly Allison, imperfections and all.
Moral: Treat yourself as you would treat those you love. It’s only fair to do so.
Your imperfect friend,
