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Somebody is a Slacker…But a Perfect Slacker

Oh wait, that’s me. It has been over two months since my last conversation with myself. I suppose it is a conversation with the world, but the insecure part of my mind believes that no one reads this little adventure in cyberspace. But I thought today was a good day to make my return to my inner voice. 1-11-11. It has a certain symmetry, and frankly I’m on a writing kick so the timing is good all around.

The holiday season was full of what the holidays often are—fun, stress, laughter, tears…the rainbow of emotions that makes one feel as though they are on a roller coaster. I have to say though, in the rankings of how my holiday seasons have gone the last few times around, this one was possibly the top rated. It was perfect actually.

Interesting thing about that word—perfect. It adds a layer of pressure to an already stressful time of year. Why? Because perfection is largely unattainable. When we strive for perfection we set ourselves up for failure. There will always be something that is not quite right. The tinsel doesn’t hang just so on the tree. The ONE person we really wanted to attend our party more than anyone else can’t make it. The present we planned to buy isn’t available in the color we had our heart set on. Accepting that we are not in control of everything around us is what gets us as close to perfection as we can reasonably get.

That’s very Zen of me. Now the truth. The lack of perfection ticks me off. I get SO agitated when I make a plan and the universe does not bend to my will. How dare the world not conform to the ideas in my head? That’s incredibly egotistic. True. But let’s be honest…we all secretly believe the world is here just for us on some level.

I think, however, we all want our plans to go off without a hitch—in particular when you have children involved. We want everything to be “just so” for our kids. We want them to have fond memories of their childhoods, and some of us do psychotic things to ensure that…like hosting cookie decorating parties for 50 people. Yes, that was me in early December. Even without miniature people underfoot, there is still a natural inclination to strive for perfection in everything we do.

Here’s the secret that I learned this holiday season—perfection is easily had by anyone. The trick to it is knowing what it looks like. Perfection is not the absence of flaws and speed bumps in our plans. Perfection is carrying on with the things that make us happy, that make our lives worthwhile, IN SPITE OF those little annoyances.

Keeping that in mind, I had the world’s most PERFECT holiday season, and I hope that you did too!

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© 2022 by L.D. Parker

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