Wrestling with 'good enough'

Aug 08, 2010 21:48

Alright, here it is.  I'm a perfectionist.  I freak out when I don't get something just right.  I'm going to come back to this post in two weeks, discover a grammatical error, and freak out.  That's just who I am.

The problem is:  I have two jobs, a baby, and I want to get something on its way to published.  So, where does that leave my perfectionism?

For a while I have been wrestling with the concept of good enough.  I cannot be teacher/mom/employee/homemaker/wife/friend of the year.  There are not enough hours in the day.  The house is never going to be perfect.  I will always be a little behind on grading.  I will have to sneak grading in during my day job.  These are just facts of the world of 'good enough'.  I'm not talking about slacking but survival.

Last January, when I started back at NVCC, I wasn't emotionally ready to go back to work, but I didn't really have a choice (fact of life when you are a teacher: your emotional needs run second to the semester).  I tried to be everything at Dulin and NVCC and I was miserable.  I ate like crap, didn't exercises and showed no attention to my marriage whatsoever.  I can't do it this semester.  So, today I started to practice 'good enough'.

Here goes:
By 6pm Dorian had drooled/pooped/spilled his way down to just a diaper and I didn't redress him, but I got to watch Shadow of a Doubt.

The counter is a mess but I gave myself a pedicure

The bed isn't made because Dorian and I took an epic three hour nap in it this afternoon.

So, my house is a bit messy and my son spent a good two hours looking like white trash, but I feel rested and ready to go to work this week and to finish up my syllabus for the Fall.  I'm about to work a little on the paper I want to publish and then I'm going do yoga and settle into bed  (with a parenting book).

Some stuff didn't get done, but no one is going to remember me for my housekeeping skills.  What Gavin, Dorian, and I all need is a happy and balanced mommy and wife.  All the better if she has happy feat.

Here's to good enough.

Oh, and Romulus turned 7.  He's middle aged!
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