Nobody's Perfect

How many times have you heard the phrase "nobody's perfect"?  Not only have I heard it my whole life, but have also used it my whole life--and usually pertaining to something I did that didn't come out quite as I'd hoped.

I've noticed something about the internet--everything seems to portray perfection in life.  Bloggers gain followers based on the content of their blogs, and so everything they post is perfect.  No one wants to write a story about their failures, right?  Most often, failures are embarrassing.  But honestly, they happen more than not, and I'm not ashamed to share stories of life gone wrong.  Take my garden this year, for example--I had wanted to give the soil a rest and thought that planting wildflower seeds and flowers from the nursery would be a great idea.  Fresh cut flowers all summer?  Yes, please!  We had grand plans for the super-lovely flower beds we would have.  Here's what we imagined:

Image from HowStuffWorks.com

Here's what really happened:

Mega-fail.  Drought, squirrels, rabbits.  More squirrels.  More rabbits.  My beds turned into a spring buffet of tender, sweet vegetation for the critters, and there was nothing I could do to stop them.  And to add insult to injury, the squirrels continued to plant and grow peanuts in my bed, long after they had the audacity to eat my plants.  As if giving me growing peanut plants was their way of saying, "Thanks for the buffet, sucker!".

It was not appreciated.

Another good example of imperfection in real life would be our homes.  Who really has a home like the ones in magazines?  As much as I'd love to say I do, the truth is, I don't.  I don't know anyone who does.  We're all so busy with work and life that there's just no time to make our homes magazine-perfect.  And anyone who has kids would know that nothing stays put away long enough to take a picture of a clean room.  Or...a hidden inground swimming pool.  Doesn't every third house on the planet have one of these?

Photo from Pinterest, from WebUrbanist

I always feel inadequate when I look at Pinterest.  So many people on there making every meal from scratch.  "I made my own homemade chicken stock from the chicken I roasted that I raised from an egg and slaughtered all by myself yesterday!"

Photo by Julie Persons, from angryboar.com

Really??  Are you Amish??

Or the "do it all" women: "Make a cleaning list that can be done every day to keep your home looking like a maid cleans your house for you!  Windows on Monday, wipe down the baseboards and door trim on Tuesday, vacuum and dust on Wednesday, change the sheets on Thursday, sweep the floors on Friday..." or, "I also like to bake bread from scratch, using flour milled with my own grinder that came from the wheat I grew using only natural pesticides..." or, "I like to make my own yogurt from milk I milked from my milk cow in the back yard...".   Usually, all of these things are done in one day, because these ladies are just that good.

Image found on HubPages

As much as I'd love to be able to do all of these things, I can't.  I, like most people, have to work during the day, and I live in town, where they frown upon keeping cattle in the back yard.  I think most of us idealize the country way of life--I know I do--but few of us can actually live out the dream of being a homesteader.  Jobs, activities, commitments and location have a huge impact on what a person can do in the span of 24 hours.

So, what's my point?  It's kind of simple, really.  The internet does not portray reality any more than television does.  Don't fall into the trap of comparing yourself to some stranger who had the good fortune to inherit their grandparent's farm and can "do it all".  The world is full of people who want to make others feel bad just so that they feel better about themselves.  IT IS A TRAP.  Live your life the way that works for you; don't try to be like everyone else!

In other words, nobody's perfect.  Go, be imperfect and have fun!