Embracing the imperfection!

One summer, my sister was visiting from out of town and decided it would be fun if our entire family went to Color Me Mine. Color Me Mine is a paint your own pottery studio. You walk in and choose a ceramic from their shelves and then you choose your paints and get to work on your masterpiece. At the time, my twin girls were two years old and into everything. They were in heaven as they painted their cute little koala and fish. They finished quickly.  I put on a little show on my phone to keep their attention while the rest of our family finished up the last of our painting.

I was completely focused on finishing my little witches house when I noticed it was a bit too quite. The show had finished, and my phone lay on the table, forgotten by my daughter. In the meantime, she had grabbed a paintbrush and was dipping it excitedly into dark green paint. Before I had time to react, she reached over for my sister’s exquisitely painted mug. Then to my horror she ran her dark green paintbrush across the side of the mug.

I gasped and cried, “Oh Emily, I am so sorry!” as I strained to grab the mug and brush out my little daughter’s hands. 

My sister didn’t even miss a beat.

“Donna, it’s no problem! If anything, it will remind me of Jessie every time I drink from it. I like my mug so much more.”

I almost shed a tear. I was so humbled by her loving and thoughtful response.

In families, we mess up. We make mistakes. We may accidentally or purposefully leave a dark mark across someone’s spotless work. In a stepfamily, I think it’s even easier to unknowingly step on someone’s heart or toes.

These are the moments where we have a choice to embrace the humanness of our lives.

Do we choose to react in anger…or with love?

Navajo weavers are famous for their diligence in intentionally crafting imperfect items.  Each item is purposely made imperfect because they think imperfection adds character and beauty to their work.

I agree with the Navajo weaver and my sister. Sometimes the imperfections in our lives add vibrant colors and the opportunity for joy.