Perfect.......is it worth it?

This morning as I again woke up to dirty house, that was relatively clean when I went to bed, it reminds me of the pursuit of perfect. Every where we look, society tells us to that our house needs to be perfect. With all the super size home improvement stores that are thriving, that equates to plenty of us that our buying into the notion of a perfect house. How many times have we used aesthetics to judge a person? Probably more than any of us care to admit to. Back in the day, our parents used things until they were used up.  They worked hard to patch, fix, and maintain things so they lasted.  Seldom did they ever think about replacing something because they did not like the way it looked.  They were thankful just to have what they had.  We now live in a age of consumerism, the likes of which we have bought into(literally) hook, line and sinker. We don't like the looks of something, even if its perfectly good, we change it, or upgrade.  Companies like this philosophy, so much so, that they make products that are made to fail.  Why, because we have no expectation or desire for it to last forever, we like new, we seek perfection. Its sad to think the craftsmanship that future generations will get from us will be nothing more than a pile of junk that needs replacing. What does all this have to do with a clean house, you ask?  Many of us work ourselves to death, worry our children and spouses to insanity, in the pursuit of a picture perfect house.  One that will be the envy of our friends and families and can rival any magazine picture.  The reality is that is near impossible and most certainly maddening. It took me a long time and a lot of heart ache to realize, a lived in home is a happy home. Now don't get me wrong, I am not talking about filthy, just lived in.  Its OK for things to be a little disheveled, for their to be a spot on the floor or laundry in the hamper. More over, peoples' personal rooms should be their ultimate sanctuary, for them to decide on, not someone else.  Again, I am not referring to filth or trash, because we all know that children and adults need to clean their rooms. I just referring to aesthetics, how they want their room, and remember perfect is in the eyes of the beholder and not society.  So ultimately you should live in your house for you and your family to be happy, and not some preconceived notion that society dictates for us. When you see a little mess or something that doesn't quite suit you, remember to evaluate the entire situation and who you are trying to please, who wants to be perfect anyway...........seems like a very lonely place to be......

 A wise old owl once told me that all that style does is go in a continuous circle.  If we hold out long enough we will be in style again..