Don't Tell Me What To Do

I love Pinterest. I find it to be a wonderful tool of organization and inspiration. Generally speaking, I love social media. BUT there is one specific issue that I can't seem to get past. Perhaps it is my innate first born tendencies and immediate abhorrence for being bossed around, but I cannot tolerate the absolute statements instructing me that I MUST do such and such or my life will never be complete. The other day, while perusing Pinterest for some dinner ideas, I came across one such comment and I literally said aloud, "don't tell me what to do... you're not the boss of me."  

We humans are opinionated beings. If I wasn't opinionated I wouldn't be sitting here writing about what's in my brain. But seriously, that new idea for a homemade neck pillow will likely not actually revolutionize my vacation, even though it is emphatically stated that I should never again travel without one.

We are perhaps not as opinionated regarding anything as much as holidays. Our way is clearly the only way to celebrate. Trick-or-treat! You must seize this opportunity to reach out to the community! Don't trick or treat! It's the spawn of satan! Don't buy your children Christmas presents! Wait, only buy 4! But do a Christmas Eve box! And stockings! And advent calendar gifts! But only 4 on Christmas because that is surely the way to save our children from evil materialism! Every where you turn, there seems to be a prescription for the perfect everything. A one stop "this is the key to perfection". 

But I'm here to tell you something... sit down because this is revolutionary. There IS no perfect way to do anything... No, really. If you don't hand craft place cards, your holidays will likely still turn out fine. If you don't send your kids to school with owl-shaped sandwiches in little compartmented containers, they're likely to survive AND still love you. I promise. 

Because you know what? HOW you do life is so much more important than WHAT you do. This past September we were ready to celebrate Colson's first birthday, and I was determined to bake his cake, just like I had for the first two. About halfway through the stress-filled day of preparation, I realized I was consistently pushing him out of the way, so I could make his birthday "perfect". I mean COME ON, why did no one inform the one-year-old that he was supposed to sit in a corner and look at books by himself so that I could make him feel special?! Ugh. It took me three kids, but practice makes perfect, and ya know what? If we have a fourth, I am buying a cake. I'm flipping buying the cake, forgetting the decorations and celebrating my toddler by doing toddlery things. We'll read books and splash in puddles, we'll eat fishy crackers and play peek-a-boo for hours. 

How much of life is like this? How often are we focused on capturing perfectly staged photos of our perfectly staged lives and in the midst of all the staging we forget to do the living? Because I can pretty much guarantee that if I asked my kids if they'd rather me play a game with them in the backyard or have an owl-shaped sandwich for lunch, hands down, they'd pick playing a game. 

So I'm going to tell you what to do: Don't let anyone tell you what to do. Figure out where your values lie and live by them. Don't stress about the small stuff. Love your spouse and kids and laugh with them. Make owl shaped sandwiches occasionally because you want to, not because you think you're supposed to and certainly not because you actually think your kids will be more successful because of it. Buy your kids 3 presents. Or 10. Or none. But do so because it aligns with your convictions, not someone else's. Don't let Pinterest be the boss of you. Because you know what? I went on a vacation without that homemade neck pillow, and it was great. 

So... take that, Pinterest. You're not the boss of me.