Pretty Good, Not Perfect

Every momma has her "go-to" dish. You know the one you whip up when you have absolutely no desire to cook but know that feeding your children is the right thing to do? Mine is chicken spaghetti. With a maiden name like Vinterella you may be thinking "yum!". But in reality it requires three things - boneless chicken thighs, a jar of spaghetti sauce (one with absolutely no clumps of stuff in it which will drive my finicky 3 year old into a tailspin) and noodles. One pot and dinner is served.

So I thought all was well in the land of chicken spaghetti, until the fateful day I decided to ask Peanut (the finicky 3 year old) what she thought of dinner. Her response, "Umm. It's pretty good, not perfect." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Sure I hadn't slaved all day over a hot stove, but I also didn't realize I was grooming a tiny perfectionist in the making. So, I laughed. Something I have learned to do a lot since becoming a stay-at-home mom.

I saw a quote the other day, it was attributed to Jill Churchill. "The most important thing she had learned over the years is that there was no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one."

Since walking away from my job at an ad agency two years ago, being that perfect mom has eluded me. At work you get raises or bonuses for a job well done and if you screw up, well no one is afraid to tell you that either. But when your clients fall into the three and under category the feedback isn't as clear cut. 

But on that fateful chicken spaghetti night, the wheels of change began to turn. My sweet little Peanut had a voice now. And right after she told me that my cooking was mediocre, she followed it up with, "I love you mommy." I'll take that.