Not the Perfect Mom

Sometimes, more often than not, the solution to my anxiety is merely just to simplify.

A few weeks ago I began the process of planning Davis’ first birthday party. I’m not sure why I call it a process when it is truly a JOY; I guess because it’s a process nonetheless.

As I was thinking through all of the details: time, guest list, food, drinks, theme, invitations, etc. I started to feel my anxiety rising and I couldn’t figure why planning such a happy and blessed event was actually causing me stress.

I had decided on a sailboat theme (boyish enough for the hubs and cute enough for me) and I was feeling all sorts of undue stress trying to figure out how to theme everything for the party. I call it PinDrome (aka Pinterest Syndrome). Suddenly my party was going to be a complete failure unless had monogrammed sailboat party favors, a nautically-themed menu, and perfectly coordinated outfits for the children.

This raised several questions:

1: Good enough for whom exactly?

And

2: What the heck was I doing theme-ing his party? I am not a theme-y person. I didn’t pick a theme for either child’s nursery, I’ve never chosen one for Madelyn’s parties, yet here I was trying to figure out how I was going to incorporate the obviously necessary sailing rope into my tablescape.

So I dropped the theme. And it’s incredible how my anxiety instantaneously vanished. Suddenly, all I had to do was buy some cute plates and napkins (doable), get food on the table (doable), and plan on enjoying the moment with my family (DOABLE).

I’m not a theme person and that’s ok. I can appreciate them from afar, but it’s too much for me. I need simple. I truly believe in every aspect of my life that less is more. And if it’s stressing me out, I probably shouldn’t be doing it.

So, we’re having a late afternoon barbecue with our closest friends and family. We’re going to eat with our hands on an old tablecloth and talk about the many ways in which my sweet boy has stolen our hearts. And I will spend the day focusing on what matters, the amazing family Matt and I have built, and will not give one thought to what everyone else is doing.