The fact is, I’ll
never look that good, my house will never be decorated that creatively, and I’ll
never cook that well. A few minutes of Pinterest and I start suffering from
perfect and adorable overload. Things I neither am nor want to be.
Not that I have any
objection to great ideas. I don’t. But
is weaving bacon really necessary? When I go on Pinterest, I see instructions for exercising to achieve the perfect body next to recipes for gooey, carmel turtle brownies. Can I have the perfect body and still eat those gooey brownies? It seems doubtful unless a whole lot of obsessive exercise follows the brownie consumption. Maybe I can just enjoy the turtle brownie, exercise for health, and leave perfection out of the equation.
There are ideas for decorating the most adorable wedding venue ever. Really cute ideas. But I look at them and wonder, if all that effort is going into creating a whole room full of preciousness, what is going on behind the scenes? Is an equal amount of effort going into ensuring the right people are marrying one another? Will there be as much concern for creating a loving environment after the three year-old flower girl walks down the isle dressed as Audrey Hepburn? And really, should a three-year old walk down the isle dressed as Audrey Hepburn? A spectacular wedding doesn’t make for a spectacular marriage.
I see oodles of
adorable ideas for decorating a baby’s room. And sure, when my babies were
born, I did my best with what I had to create sweet little bedrooms for them. Nothing
quite as cutesy as the photos I see on Pinterest but still, I did what I could.
Will the cuteness of the baby’s room matter if the child grows up in an
indulgent or emotionally distant home? Will that baby be concerned about those
less fortunate or about making a positive difference in this world? Will having
her name emblazoned across the bedroom wall make that baby girl grow up feeling
valuable and important or will she fall prey, like so many others, to feeling
inadequate no matter how big those letters are.
I don’t think
Pinterest is a bad thing. There isn’t anything wrong with sharing cute
ideas and sayings and recipes. As long as the pressure to have everything look
perfect doesn’t overshadow dealing with a less than perfect, real life.
Life is messy. Everything
isn’t color coordinated. Sometimes things aren’t adorable. Sometimes they are
ugly and horrible. Sometimes even the shiniest surfaces can’t hide the dark and
dingy underside of life.
I understand the
desire to pretty up the exterior. I think that shows more strength than
wallowing. But, putting a nice gloss on what people see won’t change the
interior. When that hard work is being done, it is rarely pretty.
It’s about balance.
Those perfect outfits, elaborate hairstyles, and oh-so-cute decorating tricks
are all well and good as long as the people creating them remember to offer
grace and love and harmony to the world outside themselves. A beautiful
exterior with a mean-spirited interior is nothing more than a beautiful
exterior with a mean-spirited interior. The world is not a better place for it.
In the spirit of
trying to do things that frighten me, maybe I’ll try out an adorable idea or
two from Pinterest. I’m pretty sure I’ll still decorate my home with an off-beat
style and I can guarantee nobody at my house will find heart shaped boiled eggs
and woven bacon. Guaranteed. But, I can
probably stick a sprig of baby’s breath in a jar and tie it with a ribbon.
Just don’t expect me
to have the perfect butt.
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