I felt great when my daughter told me her friend’s room was even messier than hers. See, my daughter had asked her friend where to throw a  candy wrapper and her friend told her, “Throw it on the floor!”

When my son was a toddler, he was so noisy in church. I felt relieved when a church friend told me her daughter had once thrown a bible at an octogenarian in the front pew.

Why have I always secretly been thrilled with other people’s naughty children? Because these children resemble my own.

They make me feel not so alone; we are part of an imperfect tribe in an imperfect world.

No one is alone. We probably all need to step away from our perfectionism, to share a laugh, a bit of humanity. Realize that our desire to appear perfect keeps us from sharing on a deeper level.

Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be our best. Perfectionism is not about healthy achievement and growth; it’s a shield. – Brené Brown