Perfect. Just Perfect.

I am pretty sure that my son has taught me more in the past five years than I will ever be able to teach him in his lifetime.

Hello. My name is Laurel. I am a recovering perfectionist.

Each of us has those few things that we are ridiculously irrational about. They drive us crazy . Pet peeves, idiosyncrasies, eccentricities, thorns, or bug-a-boos as my Grandmother calls them, we all have a few.

For me, the word “Perfect” is one of those things. It has always been a BIG no-no. I do not believe in it. It makes me berserk. For the sake of sanity, I chose to ban the word from my vocabulary a very long time ago except when trying to talk others into banning it from their lives. I think I trained Hubby to quit using the word about 14 or 15 years ago, too.

Now, I do not know where my little rough and tumble mop head picked up the word, but he has been using it. A lot lately. And, AND I do not mind. He is making me look at it in a whole new light.

Many times a day he does something, looks admiringly at his work and says, “Perfect. JUST Perfect”. (The ‘just’ is said like “JUUUUUUUST”.) There are none of the negative aspects or expectations with it. There is not any sarcasm. He simply looks at his achievement, no matter how small, and decides that he has done a good job.

Recently, he has been using it to praise the little things I do. I throw a stick to the dog, “Perfect. JUST Perfect”. He takes a bite of his dinner, “Perfect. JUST Perfect”. I brush my hair while he sits on his little bench chit chatting – “You look perfect. JUST Perfect”. {You are definitely a keeper, kid! Big, BIG Kiss. Mwah!}

Today I caught myself saying it. The words came out loud from my mouth, “Perfect. JUST Perfect” with a smile I bet was pretty similar to the one he tends to wear when he says it. That is the moment I realized I had been thinking those simple little words all day long as I was going around my errands, tasks, and chores. “Perfect. JUST Perfect”.

Somehow, he taught me to replace negative self talk, busy thoughts, and lack of thought by using a bad word to tell myself, “I love you. Life is good.” several times a day.

It may feel silly at first, but give it a try. For an hour, a day or a week. Say it out loud when you can.  See if you do not catch yourself  with a little smile and a little more bounce in your step. See if you do not start being a little more forgiving of your imperfections.

I am ready for my next lesson now, my little professor.