Perfect Mess

Do you ever just watch people? You see them  wearing the perfect outfit, with the perfect hair, smiling their perfect smile, driving their perfect cars to their perfect jobs, where they will sit at their perfect desk, drinking their perfect coffee, discussing perfect weekend plans with their perfect co-workers.  They are always chipper, kind, non-stressed, and easy going.

DON’T TRUST THESE PEOPLE!!!!! They aren’t real.

I used to live in that fantasy world where I thought perfection was the ultimate goal. However, real life and Chaos took over and I now no longer strive for perfection. If I leave my house in the morning with my hair combed, teeth brushed, and wearing a clean shirt and slacks, the day is already a winner.

When I go into work each morning, I am not surrounded by  perky and delightful co-workers. Thank the Lord! I don’t want perky and delightful.  I want to hear how, like me, they struggled getting out the door this morning, and YES, before I ask, they are wearing YESTERDAY’S slacks, and they are already counting down the minutes till 5pm.

These are the people you can trust. These are the REAL people.

Striving for perfection is not a horrible goal, but constantly obsessing over it, comparing yourself to others, and never getting there….that will drive you completely over the edge. You are NEVER going to get there. And regardless of the life some display, No one ever will.

Just this morning I spent 30 minutes looking in the mirror trying to fix my frizzy, and unruly hair. Do I wear it up, or down? Pulled back, or braided? Do I hot roll it, or go natural? Then I spent another 30 minutes going back and forth between the outfit I was wearing, and another that I thought I liked better.

Then I took my dog outside to potty. Of course I stepped in dog poop on the way back in (not from my pup, but a neighbor). I was already running late, and didn’t have time to change shoes. I wiped off the shoe in the grass and went on my way. As I was driving this morning, I had to stop suddenly to keep from running a red light at one of those intersections that has a red light camera the police use to issue tickets (gotten a few of those). When I slammed on my breaks, my coffee sloshed all over my shirt, pants, hair, windshield… you get the picture. I couldn’t find the lid to mug this morning, so I carried it without one….

Now I am sitting at my desk with my hair in that ugly bun I wear when I wash my face at night, wearing a shirt and pair of pants that DON’T match because I forgot to change out the slacks after my fashion show this morning, carrying  the faint aroma of dog dootie and coffee.

However, none of these seemed odd when I entered the office this morning, and I have gone about my day like I would any other.

I am never going to have it all together. There are days I am going to wear toothpaste on  my shirt all day, and I am pretty sure there have been times I carried food in my hair (don’t ask.) Sometimes, I show up a day late for a hair appointment, and some days I forget to comb my hair all together.

Perfection is overrated. Those give off the air of it are just bluffing.  Trust me… underneath the perfect hair, perfect outfit, and perfect smile, I bet lies someone who is wearing yesterday’s undies, forgot to put on deodorant, or scrapped off mold off their bread this morning so they could have toast.

So maybe you are sitting there reading this with a mustard stain on your shirt your forgot to iron this morning, or maybe you are wearing the same pair of pants for the 3rd day in a row. Don’t be embarrassed. Embrace it. You are not alone my friend……

You’re not perfect…. You’re just a Perfect mess… and that’s just fine.

Daily Prompt