I'll Have a Salad With a Side of Enlightenment

Further to yesterday's dramatic blog (blogmatic) here is the author's follow up to the post that started it all:

http://www.danoah.com/2010/09/cure-for-perfection.html

Check out the comments for the perfection cure and make sure to have plenty of kleenex on hand cause there are some real doozies in there, there may be one in there of mine too if you can find it (cue winky face icon).

On a side note, I got a few comments and a couple phone calls to see if I was okay. The answer is YES, absolutely! My "real" comments were meant to simply express to my readers and anyone else that stumbled upon my writings (can you say awkward) that although my blog postings are usually about rainbows and lollipops that I too go to bed sometimes with my mind reeling, my eyes watering and my heart heavy. Sometimes I even think it would just be better if I didn't wake up at all...but, then the alarm bell rings, I do a little stretch, drink a little joe, put on my big girl pants and head out the door ready for action. Possibly my imperfections were a little scary for some of you but, I have been living with them for quite some time....they are what I know but, not always what I show which was the whole point (cue smiley face icon).

To make some of you feel a little better, and possibly to make myself feel a little better here are some SUPER Sarah points, things I celebrate about myself!

• Children LOVE me and I honestly love them equally if not more!
• I let my dog sleep on my bed, which is awfully nice of me....although I do forget to buy her dog food on occasion which is not as nice.
• I am a good friend and a good daughter, you can pretty much ask me to do anything and I will rarely find a justified reason to say no. Except walking on water, I would like to but, I just don't think I can.
  
• I am a good listener most of the time unless I have earplugs in.
• I'm pretty darn cool, resourceful and as long as you don't want to talk about politics a pretty good conversationalist
• If you want to know something, ask me....if I don't know the answer I will spend hours researching it for you
  
• I am silly and that's just fun.

Sometimes I stumble across something that changes the way I think about things. Anyone who is close to me knows that I absorb everything I learn, sometimes I take it to extremes but, it is my own individual growing process. If I had a penny for every time I heard someone say (or that it was said about me) "What's the bandwagon she's on now", "I've heard that before", "How long is this going to last" and so on and so forth, I would probably have about $1.48. The upside is that I would be $1.48 richer and I would've tried something new or at least made the attempt to redefine myself and how I perceive the world. Generally, I am not a "baby steps" type of person which may be one of my other imperfections but, life is much more interesting this way....at least for me.

On a funny note, Aidan just schooled me on my "silly name" which is Snotty Bananapants. I think it's rather fitting. Go ahead check yours, you know you want to:

http://apps.scholastic.com/captainunderpants/NameGame/play.htm


And what better way to sum up this post than a couple quotes. One from a woman who was seemingly perfect until the final years of her life revealed her truths and another from a man who was a practitioner of Ahisma and vowed only to speak the truth. Both personal hero's of mine.

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it is better to absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."
- Marylin Munroe

"My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at his feet."
- Mahatma Gandhi

With that I bid you adieu....

SEM

The Disease called "Perfection"

Just when I was contemplating deleting my Facebook account I read a shared blog post and it all came back to me why I became a part of the biggest networking site on the face(book) of the planet....to NETWORK! The information some of my friends share on their walls is invaluable to me. From recipes I would've never tried to articles that shake me to my core like the one I'm about to share with you.

Maybe it will not have as profound of an effect on you as it did me. My struggle with the attainment of perfection started very early in my life and has become a burden in recent years almost to heavy to bear. So first, I ask that you read the blog post here:

http://www.danoah.com/2010/09/disease-called-perfection.html

Then read my dose of real. Then do the same for yourself, be bold, be courageous and well...a little less perfect.

Sarah's dose of real:

I am not satisfied or even remotely happy with myself due to a deep seated depression but, I put on a front for most people because I am scared of what they will think of me.

I sometimes hate the way I look so much that I cry or throw private temper tantrums when I have social obligations to go to.

I project my need to be perfect onto my son and it breaks my heart to hear him tell me he's not good enough. I feel like a monster.

I am not happy in my marriage a lot of the time but, I keep hanging on because I don't want to be a failure and I feel like divorce will irrevocably damage Aidan like it damaged me.

I am addicted to sugar and struggle with it on a daily basis and then I get angry about the weight I continue to gain as the years pass.

I am very sensitive and take offense to what a lot of people say to me but, I keep my feelings about it inside because I don't want to appear weak or emotional.

So there you have it folks. I am not perfect, no where near but, this blog was a big wake up call to me to stop pretending or portraying that I am. Although I will continue to blog about the "laughing and growing" parts of our life, please know that there are a lot of less than perfect moments in the St.Godard household and will continue to be. Maybe now I will learn to accept and be proud of those moments too!

Until next time friends, family. Feel free to share your doses of real!

Sarah