Perfection

A friend of mine made the comment, "I don't have to have my house perfect anymore to enjoy having company."  It started me thinking about the concept of perfection.  I live in a household with someone who strives for perfection in whatever he does.  This is a man who hangs pictures utilizing a portable level.  Striving for perfection is a two edged sword:  On one hand, it's great to know that I'm going to get the best effort possible.  On the other hand, when perfection can't be achieved - even for reasons that are uncontrollable - there's lots of teeth gnashing and anguish which sometimes lasts for days.

Have you ever worked to get 'something' perfect?  Then the perfection dissipates almost immediately.  You know, it's the old saw, "If you want it to rain, wash your car."  I know Drake sometimes feels personally penalized when just after he's gotten the car 'perfect', he drives through an unavoidable dust cloud or isolated sprinkle of rain.  I've seen his perfectly cleaned car last less than an hour.  It's the same with house cleaning.  I can get a wild hair and spend the day getting the house absolutely perfect.  Then I brush my teeth, and a giant glob of toothpaste splashes the sparkling sink, at dinnertime the dish overflows in the oven, and the next day you can write your name in the dust on the furniture.  So maddening.  So common.  So human.  

I find the perfection bug bites me most regularly when I sew or do needlework.  I've become obsessed with our bridesmaid gifts.  In my mind's eye, I see what I want.  The actual product may be woefully short of my vision.  However, I am trying to get better at internally saying, "OK, this is my best", and shrug off the mistakes or imperfections only I can see.   Of course, me and the seam ripper are still best buds, and I've been known to tear out 3 or 4 hours of stitching because 'it just wasn't right'.  Perfection can be an exacting taskmaster.

I think it is better to try for "ideal" instead of "perfect'. We have a joke in our house based on the White Christmas movie starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye who explain to the inn owner why his barn is ideal for their show.  For years when the Smiths find something we really, really like, one of us turns to the other and says, "It's ideal."  The next person responds, "Ideal!", and then third person finishes by saying "Perfectly ideal!"  I've got to remember I want the wedding weekend to be remembered as "Ideal", not "Perfect".  When it's all done, I'd be very, very happy with "Perfectly Ideal".