If you can't do something well, learn to enjoy doing it poorly.

I am NOT a perfectionist.

I'm more like a mediocre-ist.

I don't need much of anything to be in perfect order. My house gets messy and cluttered. My lawn is not especially manicured. My life is a series of just-enough-to-get-by moments.

So how did I get these perfectionist kids??

When Noah started pre-school last year, we quickly learned of his idealistic tendencies. If he accidentally colored outside the lines, he got very upset. If he made an "S" backwards instead of forwards, he would cry in frustration. He couldn't stand to make mistakes.

At Open House this year, his teacher showed us his seagull project. She had been astounded by his cutting and coloring abilities. His was by far the most meticulous of the class. 

She also said she's learned to get him started first, before any of the other kids, because you can bet it's gonna take him a while. His careful, deliberate style is not to be rushed.

I try to gently reiterate to Noah that no one expects perfection, that making mistakes is part of learning, all that jazz. 

Now...I've got another one.

Tonight Sophie was practicing writing letters. She's just 3, not in school yet, but she's interested in the letters and asked to be able to write some.

So we practiced.

I wrote an "A", told her how to do it, then gave her a shot.

That's mine, up at the top left.  Hers is down at the bottom center. 

PRETTY GOOD for a 3-year-old.

She whimpered, "Ooooh... mine doesn't look very good. It doesn't look as good as yours."

I said, "Sophie darling, I've been writing for over 30 years and you just started this month, give yourself a break, kid."

She gave it a few more tries, hence the little arches on the page, but every time she did one of those she stopped and said, "Ohhhhh no, mine doesn't have a point at the top. Mine doesn't look good." and refused to go any farther.

Sophie's already the kind of kid who will exaggerate claims and add drama to any situation, like when I told her she couldn't come shopping with me and my mom and was going to need to stay home with her dad, and she responded, "But dad doesn't love me anymore!!"

Maybe that's part of the reason we didn't enroll Sophie in pre-school this year. I'm just not looking forward to those calls from Children & Family Services. "Your daughter says you put her in a closet with no food and water for three days for coloring outside the lines, ma'am, you're gonna need to come with us."