Monday, July 23, 2007

Imperfect in Perfection's Shadow

Written by Amanda from The Wink


I am human, imperfect and, at times, guilty of envy. As a parent I make choices every day, most of which I feel damn good about. I buy organic foods, incorporate exercise and time outside into day-to-day life (Look great, feel great, everybody wins.). I work assiduously to ensure that my girls, ages 1 and 3, have no self-image issues trickle down from me via fat days and bad hair days (which, considering the infrequency with which I visit a hairdresser, is increasingly difficult)..

I have a full time job and freelance on the side to make ends meet. I choose to be affectionate and honest with my husband in front of the girls, wanting them to know a model for relationships that incorporates friendship, passion and compromise (He's cute, I'm lucky, it's easy). I've made some serious mistakes if the reports about tv before 2 and not being home full time are to be believed. I try not to dwell on those things, I mean my three year old says, "Ayudame" when she needs help and Avery can say "Jupiter", so Little Einsteins and Dora can't be all bad.

Sometimes I make little missteps in life, but I try to do the right thing. Lately I've been reading a lot about what other people are doing, whether it's a mom struggling with how to the greatest fight in her life or a woman planning her wedding (This one I haven't so much read as been force fed). While I will cop to a bit of stuff envy...$400 jeans? $600 hair cuts? Villas? Trainers? Help? Sign me up! One thing has become very clear to me in the last few months: If a $2 million dollar wedding and face shellacked with make-up and a figure held up by a veritable pit crew is perfection, then I am just fine with my frizzy, soft in spots life with two kids in diapers and a husband who occasionally makes me crazy.

So Eva can have her OK! photo shoots and Entertainment Tonight feature segments, I'll take my platform over at The Wink, if you ever feel like reading about toilet back ups and toddler tantrums instead of sequins and Bentleys, pop on over, no need to dress up, just be yourself.

15 comments:

The Good Woman said...

Congrats on the feature. I think (for what its worth) that perfection is highly overrated and a sure fire way to anxiety and stress. Chill. Watch Dora!

The Farmers Wife said...

The Good Womans' line "perfection is over rated" sums it up completely.

Who wants to be perfect anyway? sounds mighty dull.

Maude Lynn said...

"Frizzy, soft in spots life." Love that line!

S said...

The one I'd rather have coffee with is the one who is living life to the fullest. Life is messy, life is full of unexpected twists and turns, and being human, we are imperfect.

The one I'd rather have coffee with is you. Hands down.

Anonymous said...

The dress was just too freaking short! I wrote a little bit about envy today too...

Janet said...

I'd much rather read about real life, any day. Poop, I can relate to. A $2 million wedding? We held our wedding reception in a huge tent bordered by a field of corn! Damn, it was fun...

Anonymous said...

Real life can be amazingly dramatic....

Good for you! It's important for mamas to feel good about the job that we're doing. And you should!

flutter said...

This is fabulous.

Sarahviz said...

I wholeheartedly agree. But I wouldn't turn down $2 million if someone wanted to just give it to me!

Amanda said...

I was wondering who to give the $2 million burning a hole in my pocket to. What's your mailing address in the trenches?

Damselfly said...

"If a $2 million dollar wedding and face shellacked with make-up and a figure held up by a veritable pit crew is perfection, then I am just fine with my frizzy, soft in spots life with two kids in diapers and a husband who occasionally makes me crazy." Thanks for keeping it real! This is great.

Jen E said...

Awesome article, Amanda! Here Here!!!

Tips and Tricks blog said...

A great post - I continually feel that it's less simple than I previously thought.

Dr. Rajesh Sharma said...

Amazing amount of great, actionable advice. I will keep coming back to this for a while to try and implement many of these! Thanks!

Dr. Ratna Mallik said...

That is great to hear, thank you for reading!

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