Perfection is one of those things that has always been a blessing and a curse for me. The journey toward it has inspired me to be able to accomplish many things. However, the inattainability of it has also caused me to either not do something or to be disappointed when something I did didn't turn out to be 'perfect.' Tonight's case in point. My daughter is in a sewing camp making clothes for her American Girl this week. On Friday, they want the girls to be "twins" with their American Girl. Well, she has outfits that match that we have bought at various American Girl stores during our travels, but you know, I AM a seamstress and as a seamstress and stay at home mom and pinterest addict, I of course should MAKE matching outfits for Cate and her baby (I think she decided to take her 'My American Girl' Hailey with her). So, I had already started making Cate a skirt out of pre-ruffled fabric (thanks so kindly to the Hobby Lobby clearance for that score. 50% off per yard and all I had to gather was the waist to attach it to the waistband. I had enough fabric left to make Hailey (or Kailey or Kanani or Samantha) a skirt. Then she needed a matching shirt. All of this in two days before the twin day when in the summer, of course all I have is T-I-M-E. (Im sure the stay at home moms out there know about the overtime in the summertime). So, I found an online freebie tshirt pattern for the American Girls and basically kinda threw it together. I left the armholes and neck raw (knit doesn't fray). I was kind of disgusted with myself for being such a half butt, but when Cate saw it, she lit up. And this morning when she went to camp, she was so proud. I was worried her teacher was going to judge the poor construction of the outfit, but when I picked her up, all she could talk about is how much the other girls in her class and her teacher loved their matching outfits. Sometimes, I think, we are our worst critics. That we don't even do things that would be great because we fear failure or imperfection. We don't stop to think that other people don't judge us anywhere near as harshly as we judge ourselves. We need to lighten up on ourselves and give ourselves grace. Our fear of imperfection leads us to a standstill and causes us to avoid the perfection of the moments that happen when we do try. Cate wasn't concerned about finished armholes or ruffle fabric that didn't line up completely. She was happy her mom made her and her girl outfits and she was proud as punch to wear them. That memory was perfection.
