Hey babe, so just so you know up front, I’m writing this private letter to you publicly, and a few thousand other people will see it, and I probably should have told you in advance that I was inviting thousands of people into our lives, but they needed a place to crash and … anyway … hope it’s cool!!
Anyway, I just wanted to write you this note and say that it’s okay that you’re imperfect.
Wait. I think that might come across wrong, like I’m saying that as The Perfect One, I give you permission to not be perfect. Let me explain.
Our culture puts a ridiculous amount of pressure on you. You’re supposed to have career dreams and aspirations, but you’re also supposed to be a mom, and a wife, and make our house a home, and while you do all those things you’re also supposed to meet some standard of beauty that literally doesn’t exist (look, even your friend Jennifer Garner isn’t perfect!). Since we are Christians, you also feel the added pressure of being a “good” follower of Jesus, who memorizes chapters of the Bible and prays for hours on end, and is this Mother Theresa level spiritual role model to our kids. But that’s silly, because Mother Theresa didn’t even have kids because she was a nun. Like, if she had kids, I bet she would have lost her temper with them sometimes. Maybe a lot? I feel like I’m getting sidetracked here.
Oh, you also are so relationally attuned to others that you feel this pressure to be a great friend who never lets others down. And then on top of that you’re smart enough to know that this whole “be perfect” thing is a lie, and you shouldn’t believe it, but then you do believe it sometimes which makes you feel like you’re perfecting not being perfect and so now there’s that too.
As you may have noticed, I’m not a woman. As you also may have noticed, I don’t always necessarily “understand” women. However, it seems to me like you’re bombarded about a million times a day with messages making it pretty much impossible for you to be okay with sometimes not being okay. Every movie, TV show, ad, and Instagram depict some non-reality that says “if you’d only try harder, this could be you.”
So that’s what I mean when I say it’s okay you’re not perfect. I figure it doesn’t hurt to hear read your husband saying that.
On the days when you were so busy taking care of a sick one-year-old and you didn’t get a chance to put on makeup or do your hair, it’s okay. I know a lot of times you want to do that stuff for you, not for anyone else, but for what it’s worth you still look pretty, even when your hair is literally sticking out sideways from our kid using it as a security blanket. Like, I’d still make out with you is what I’m saying. I think I’m getting distracted again.
The times when you lose your patience with our three-year-old after an hour of non-stop tantruming, it’s okay. Honestly, he’s kinda the worst sometimes.
