Perfectionism: Learning to Let Go

Some I know struggle with perfectionism, some of us don’t.   I’m in the latter group.  I have always considered myself laid back.  I let the housework go so I could play with my children.  I didn’t worry about planting flowers around my house or decorating for holidays.  All that meant was that I’m not task oriented about things I don’t care about. 

I’ve learned that I like to be in control of some things.  Well, I lost control of what I cared about in the early days of raising a child with learning differences.  School was a mess, he didn’t do well in Sunday school, there were meltdowns everytime I looked around.  I didn’t know how to handle this but I wanted control.  I had to lose my perfectionism (having family life that I could control). 

I remember the moment I realized this was a problem for me.  My husband and I were waiting for our children after school.  You see, I ALWAYS talked to my son’s teacher to see what had happened during the day.  My husband said, “I’ll go up and talk to the teacher.”  I said, “NO, I have to go.”  I was afraid he “wouldn’t do it right?”  As I was leaving the car, I said, “I know, I’m a little bit of a control freak?”  He said, “A LITTLE.”  I wasn’t fooling anyone except myself about my perfectionism. 

I’ve moved forward, I think, but certainly still struggle with this. I learned from others I’m not alone.