So tonight, we had friends of ours over and it’s the most relaxed I’ve been in a social gathering in quite awhile…

I think it was because we had kids with us… and we were completely realistic about how messy that could make the gathering.

The two-year-olds melted down a few times, all of the kids interrupted us as we talked, and we just kept on rolling with it. No judgment, no frustration, no eye rolling when the kids acted like kids… it was great. I served a meal from a crock pot and let the kids run a little wild while I talked to an adult who was not my husband…and I was not anxious about doing that.

This is something that I’ve been missing lately: the chance to just be ourselves and not try to be perfect.

It was nice not to think about who we were presenting in this gathering. We were who we truly are–sometimes a little too loud, sometimes a little too crabby, always a little messy and imperfect, but altogether lovely. Finding another family that is exactly the same way and appreciates us is beyond amazing.

Something I struggle with as a person with OCD is the desire to be a little perfectionistic. Okay, a lot perfectionistic. I don’t like to do things if I can’t do them well, but when it comes to parenting, the images out there of the perfect family are just plain unrealistic. More than that, they’re just not worth striving for because a.) doing so is exhausting and b.) I’d rather sacrifice perfection than happiness.

It’s just a little hard to let go…

So tonight, I’m grateful that I was able to let go. At least a little bit and for a little while.