I’m not cured yet, but I’m making greats strides in my recovery… by sheer force.
Confession #1: I’m a reformed perfectionist.
It’s not that I think I’m perfect; or near it, for that matter. Regardless, I still strive to do things well, in all areas. I’m a people-pleaser. I care about what others think of me, maybe too much. I want to do my job well- any job that I have.
It was easy, way back when. Top grades. Good college. Met a man that swept me off my feet, loved me, & married me. Landed my first excellent teaching job using my degree. Made lots of money. Kept our first adorable, starter apartment immaculately clean, and cooked only the freshest, most intricate meals for my hard-working new husband. We enjoyed our dual gym memberships, indulged in late-night dinners out…
It was PERFECT.
Then we had kids.
Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s not their fault. Having each of my babies has truly been, hands down, the most spectacular moments of my life.
Here’s the conundrum: it’s impossible to try & be perfect when you’re sharing your life with six small people.
Oh, I tried. I tried to make time for my friends. I tried to be the perfect wife. I tried to do it all: to keep every stitch of laundry clean and folded. I tried to keep my floors immaculate, the sink empty, the school notes promptly signed, the windows smudge-free, the library books returned on time, etc.
And the more perfect I strove to be, the more I resented the work required as the result of people that kept “messing the plan up”. You know. The other people that lived with me. The people that: left crumbs everywhere. Spilled drinks,
all.the.time.
The people that threw clean laundry back in the basket instead of putting it away. The ones that left toys lying exactly where they’d last been played with, only to dash off in search of new toys. The ones who left dirty dishes on the table. The counters. In the sink. NEAR the dishwasher, but never in it. The husband who left his laundry on TOP of the hamper instead of IN it.
The people that whined instead of asking cheerfully. The people that used rude words instead of being kind to a sibling. The people that seemed to require more of me than was left inside. Or the people who didn’t seem to notice how hard I worked for them, how much it took from me, day after day.
I was tired. I was grumpy.
all.the.time.
And it wasn’t just the house. It was the internal expectations I had of my kids’ performances in school as well. Parent-teacher conferences that less than stellar reports crushed me. Some of my kids take their schoolwork very seriously; others could care less.
And it wasn’t about competing with other moms. Nope, just my own internal competition, within myself. Am I good enough? Am I doing this right? Am I being the best mom that my kids deserve? Is my husband proud of me? Is my house clean enough? Are my kids clean enough? Are my kids happy/well-adjusted/well-balanced/clean/in enough activities/learning the right character qualities?? Do people look at me, with six kids, and think, “She’s in over her head.”??
But thankfully, I caught on to MY problem before screwing up my kids (well, in this respect, anyway. I’m sure there are countless other ways The Captain and I are inflicting psychological damage on them. The serious stuff. Like not buying them iPhones. Or making them share a room with a sibling. The horror!).
I’ve always measured my worth & value by how I’m performing. Am I a good daughter? A caring and considerate wife? A kind sister? Decent friend?
And as a teacher? It was so easy to receive validation, literally, in the form of evaluations. Concrete proof that you’re doing it right.
But as a MOM…. especially a Stay At Home Mom… there’s no grading system. There’s no report card to indicate how well you’re doing. Or, more importantly, no clear-cut evaluation system to affirm that yes, you’re doing a good job.
Especially on those days where it crashes and burns. You know; the days when they’re late to school because you can’t find a shoe, and you find their homework on the table after they’ve been dropped off.
The days when the cat food bowl is dumped on the floor, & you crunch through the grit because the broom is missing.
The days that you find toddler graffiti, in marker, on a freshly cleaned wall.
The days when dinner is late, or when dinner is hot dogs, AGAIN, because you just don’t have it in you.
The days when you scream in total overreaction not because the child deserved it, but because you’re just so tired.
The days where you weep because the house is a total mess, and you’re convinced any mom would do it better than YOU.
So not perfect. But so what? Life is messy. And it’s even messier with kids. It took me a long time -too long, probably- to realize that there’s no such thing as perfection. And attempting to reach it, particularly with kids, is, in the words of the great Phyllis Diller, “like shoveling snow while it’s still snowing.”
POINTLESS.
(Note: The above quote actually refers to the idea of cleaning while your children are still growing, & how pointless it is. Fitting, no??)
I’m slow to catch on, but I’m getting it. I sweep less, and I hug more. I scrub less and I laugh more. I’ve also gotten the kids into the work, which is a HUGE help, as I’ve discussed back in this post. I worry more about what my kids think than what other moms think. I guide, and encourage, but I let each of my kids grow to become who he or she is meant to be, not who I think he or she is supposed to be.
My kids won’t remember if the towels were folded just so or the crumbs were always swept, but they will remember how I loved them & made them feel. Lesson learned.
© Copyright Six Pack Mom, All rights Reserved. Written For: SPM Writes
Kristine says
I am not a mother, but I really enjoyed reading this post. I find I am similar in that I am always trying perfect things, and like you said, life is not perfect, it’s messy and that’s OK. So I guess when my husband leaves an empty water bottle on the table, I shouldn’t freak out? 😉 Thanks for writing. 🙂
SixPackMommy says
I think it applies to anyone who has to share their life with another person, period! (And I completely understand the water bottle thing… 🙂 Thanks for reading!
MARY JO says
SO TRUE. MULTIPLIES BY 6 FOR YOU, BUT JUST WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE PARENTS AND THEY SAY, “MOM, HOW DID YOU DO IT?”
YOU JUST KEEP GOING AND LOVE THEM ALL. YES, YOU ARE RIGHT, THEY DON’T REME3MBER HOW WELL THE WASH WASW FOLDED. ETC. AND IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS REALLY HOW IMPORTANT IS HAVING FOLDED TOWELS?
SixPackMommy says
Thanks, Mary JO- I get that “how do you do it?” now! I agree with what you said; it’s the bigger picture that really matters.
Kim says
I can so relate to the learning process of just letting it go.. it took me forever when I was first at home. I’m SO much better than I used to be, but still, I know I have a ways to go. I know this because when I wash the counters down, and everything is in it’s place, and I shine the stainless steel appliances.. ’cause I almost never do that.. and my kitchen looks fantabulous for all of oh, 5 seconds, before someone puts a dish into the sink.. When it hits the sink, I have to admit, I do snap just a teeny tiny bit inside. Old habits die hard? Thank goodness for cookies. Cookies put everything in perspective! 🙂
SixPackMommy says
You’re absolutely right, Kim- there’s something about having the kitchen in perfect order, then someone disturbing it that just brings me down mentally. I think it’s the sense of repetition: cleaning a room again, and again, and again… but yup, cookies. Everything is better with cookies.