When going on vacation, can I see any hands raised of those who breathe an enormous sigh of relief just to finally sink into the seat of the car ready to go? Anybody feeling me on the tizzing that goes on the during days leading up to getting out of town? Let me tell you, I am in high panic mode right now but instead of washing clothes and cleaning house like I should be doing, I figured I would sit down and play on the computer a bit.

Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

I did manage today to get the outside of my Suburban washed. I must confess however that it is simply a white-washed tomb. There may not be dead men's bones inside, but I imagine you could find the remains of a bovine, chicken or potato wedged under the seats. The inside of my car is just gross right now and I've quit trying to apologize for it. One of my oldest son's friends was over last weekend and I was making the 'excuse the mess' speech when this child spoke up and said, "Ms. Lisa, Don't worry! You can't even find a place to sit in our Suburban."

Wow, I love that kid.

Which leads me to ask - doesn't it make you feel great when you find out the women you thought had it all together actually don't? That their house is a wreck, they eat at fast-food joints way too much, or their daughter has to wear her brother's underwear because all hers are dirty? (Don't ask me how I know these things - just take a sistah at her word, okay?)

I had a friend a few years back who was perfection. Her car was spotless. She had the monogrammed diaper bag with no dirty diapers zipped up inside and her baby's carseat had no crumbs. Her older daughter's hairbows always matched the outfit which matched the socks which matched the shoes. You could eat off the floors of her house.

I was mortified on a field trip day when she suggested we ride together and I could drive.

*gulp* "Ride with me?"

Ya'll, my car looked like a bomb went off inside but I made my apologies, cleared out the front seat and tried to keep her looking at me instead of the piles of stuff in the back.

I felt compelled to ask her, "How do you keep it all together? I mean, you have a family and a real job. How do you do it all?"

To which she burst into a thousand tears. "I drive myself crazy trying to be perfect because I want everyone to think I've got it all under control. The truth is, I'm miserable."

I can not even tell you what a sweet time we had talking that thing out in the Lord. I felt much better about my mess and I hope she learned to let go just a bit.

So I guess in all this rambling what I'm trying to say is, "It's okay." Okay not to be perfect. Okay to let some things go. If you are currently a mom in the trenches, this season only passes once and there will be a time when the house stays clean and you can scarce come up with enough dirty clothes to make a load. And I'm willing to bet we'll miss our mess-making little ones like crazy. I'd also be safe to suppose when someone seems perfect, they've put themselves through a lot of anguish to maintain it. In my estimation, you can't be perfect and happy, too. (Please remember I'm speaking in generalities, girls. If you are a happy perfectionist, blessings all over you...!)

I suppose my ministry is to be the girl who makes everyone else feel better about themselves by giving you lots to live down to..:)) And you know what?

I'm perfectly happy with that.

With all that said, I'm off for a week to Florida with my fabulous husband and two best friends, Chuck and Deb. The grandparents are coming to stay with the kids which is a blessing I can't even begin to communicate. We plan on doing nothing at the beach but eat, lay in the sun, laugh, and eat some more. A time of refreshment is much needed so if I could ask for a prayer, it would be that all four of us would be rejuvenated as Elijah and come back home ready to outrun a chariot with the energy of the spiritual food I know we will receive. In the meantime, ya'll hold the fort down, okay??

Can't wait to tell you all about our adventures when I return! :)




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