I have a quote on my wall from Gordon B. Hinkley; It says: "Try a little harder to be a little better". I love that quote and believe it to be a great bit of advice from a prophet of God.
However, I have been recently thinking about how we women tend to compare ourselves to others. We look at our top 10 friends best qualities and imagine them into one imaginary person who is fabulous in every way: She is 110 lbs, ALWAYS looks perfect, exercises daily, she studies the scriptures both personally and with her family daily, she makes healthy delicious made-from-scratch meals, her kids can read by age 3 and are in college by age 12, she has a 2 year supply of food storage, she plays at least 3 instruments, she is thrifty, her house is always spotless, she volunteers 6 hours per week, goes to the temple weekly, does genealogy work,she keeps her 8 children's toys neatly organized in color-coded bins.....etc..
I'll have you know that this person does not exist. There may be people who have a few of these traits, but it just isn't possible to do it all. I guess it is a matter of prioritizing what is important to YOU.
I put on a nice show both in person and on the Internet to make you people think I'm put together. But so that you can all feel better about yourselves, here is where I cut corners and why I'm far from perfect(brace yourself).
1. I NEVER fold my baby's clothes nor my undergarments-- and I never plan to.
2. I only make my bed about every other day (why is that such a high priority anyway?)
3. I check my email more than I read my scriptures (need to work on that one).
4. I don't bother doing my nails or washing my car.
5. One of my new years resolutions this year was to spend 20 minutes per day of 1:1 time with kiera teaching her something. So far, I'm failing and I'm lucky if I do it once a week.
6. I probably only floss twice a week (don't tell my dentist husband!)
7. I don't have one drop of artistic talent. I can't even doodle.
8. Sometimes if I see something is dusty as I'm walking by I'll take off the socks I'm wearing and dust with them (but only if I haven't been wearing them long).
9. I say "no" to extra volunteer opportunities at this point of life. Good for the school for making blankets for the kids at the hospital. It is a good thing to do, but by saying "yes" to them I'd be saying "no" to quality time with my children.
10. Sometimes I give up and feed my 2 year old cold cereal for dinner
There, I hope you all feel better about yourselves now. I bet many of you are better than me in many aspects!
12 comments:
Hey! Why does your perfect person always get talked about as "she"....can't it be a "he"?.... I'm just sayin'.....
Welcome to being a normal L.D.S. mom. In my patriarchal blessing it says to never look at perfection as an idle dream, but to always strive for it. But what I think it means is striving for perfection the way Christ lived. Being perfected in Christ. I loved the mission president wifes talk at stake conference. She talked about being at her breaking point during those first years of her marriage (not having a clean house all the time, messy kids, etc.) But her final conclusion, along with her husband was that none of that really mattered at the moment. It was the fact that they try to always read scriptures together, hold F.H.E., live the gospel basically. Those are the things that realy matter. So as I look at my messy house, my kids messy hair that they brushed themselves and their unmatching clothes, I don't feel so bad anymore! Because I know I'm reading my scriptures and teaching my kids the gospel.
Your a great mother, and awsome example to me, Cambrie. You are very close to perfect in my eyes!
GREAT post Cambrie! I know we can all come up with a list where we cut corners...I think mine would be the longest!!:) Thanks for sharing and making us all feel a little more normal!!
COLD cereal, for dinner... this is shameful... I'm going to have to rethink my friendship with you...
AMEN!!! I decided to give striving for the image of perfection and just do the things that work for our family a bit ago.
C'mon Cambrie... Haven't any of those princess self-help videos taught you anything?
All you need is to sing a little song in a super-high pitched voice, and have all the local fauna come do your dusting, cooking, etc....
That will free you up to read your scriptures, volunteer 30 hours a week, and spend 80 hours a week one-on-one with each child.
Awesome post, Cambrie. I think every LDS mom (or every mom, for that matter) can relate 100% to what you're saying.
I am realizing that we each have strengths and we each have weaknesses. And just because I may not be the best cook (but working on it) doesn't mean I'm a bad wife or mother. Amen to everything you said!
GUESS WHAT??? You are right on about what you said...but the good news is, after you turn 50, you don't even care about how others look or how perfect Mormon they are...nor do you care if you get everyone elses stamp of approval! The ONLY being that I care about approving of me is my Heavenly Father and LIFE IS GREAT!
And yet after all that, I would still picture you as one of those "totally put together" moms.
Bravo on your position on taking extra volunteer opportunities.
Good post Cambrie.
I love it! :) I'm so with you on the 2nd one... I've never really been that into making my bed! When I was little I would make it... and then sleep on top of the covers so that I could just straighten it out a little and be done with my chores faster! :P Ha ha ha!
Cambrie, I absolutely love you! I actually DO fold my garments!!! But as far as your other confessions... well I don't need to make any right now, do I?
Post a Comment