Including my son’s, I have been to ten turning-two parties, in two months, but today I had the privilege of being my son’s plus one at the most charming 2-year old birthday party of them all. This one was different. Sure there were cupcakes and pizza; it was at a park. There was sunshine and goodie bags and plenty of cute kids. But the standout was that for once, there wasn’t a Pinterest replication in sight. When we left the party, we left with birdseed and sunflower butter in our hair, dirt in our toenails, paint on our pants and the biggest smiles imaginable. We left wrapped up not in Pinterest impressions, but in the goodness of little Vivian and her loving parents.
The pressure is ON to be Pinterest perfect. But in this world gone Pinterest where obsessions over creative inspiration, and doing, run rampant, I find myself on the outside. For me, I don’t find using Pinterest inspiring. I find that I feel overwhelmed and inadequate. I feel like I should be creating beautiful things to make my life feel perfect, when in reality, I just want to enjoy how beautiful my imperfect life is. The truth is… Pinterest is not for me any more than blonde hair or caviar is. I’m not a Pinterest mom. I’m a regular mom from a pre-Pinterest era who loves popsicle sticks, Elmer’s and googly eyes. I think a messy home is oftentimes an indicator that mom is focused on her kids and not cleaning. My home lacks pennant garlands and a gallery of perfect family photos hung in an intentionally imperfect way. I’ve never done a professional family photo shoot. The meals I prepare are edible, but not beautiful nor exotic in taste. Oftentimes I neglect to include a veggie.
I’ll admit it. I admire and in some moments envy the Pinterest moms, many of whom are dear friends. But I’ve uncovered, accepted and am now declaring that it is not for me. I’m turning my self-imposed Pinterest pressure OFF. From now on, I will recommit myself to creating with reckless freedom, unfocused on a preconceived, pressure-filled outcome. I will unleash the original, creative mom within me, and show up as her, proudly, with love… crafting mistakes included. I will be inspired by and mirror my son’s natural tendency to create freely, with confidence and joy, and without agenda. Since perfection will no longer be my goal, he will receive welcome invitations to create alongside me. Together we will build beloved cardboard box rocket ships, put on script-less plays using lunch bag puppets and eat smiley faced pancakes until our bellies ache. He will know that his contributions are adding to, not taking away from our projects. He will proudly delight, with self-approved status, in whatever we create no matter how flat our cookies turn out. And so will I.... sunbutter and birdseed hair included.
