I have recently been pondering what elements truly make a place feel safe and homey, encouraging a sense of community. And something that shouldn’t be a surprise, but still likes to sneak up on me is imperfection. In a social media obsessed world (guilty), it is easy to get caught up in another person’s highlight reel and then suddenly feel less than.
-My house isn’t nearly as nice or put together as hers
-My kids have never sat still long enough to get a picture like that
-Why doesn’t she have any wrinkles? She has like 4 kids…?
Over here in the real world though, I have been noticing a theme and it is one I really like!
Imperfection tends to allow me to let my guard down.
If I go over to a friend’s house for a play date, and there are kid toys everywhere and a small layer of dust on the ground (or like a lot of dog hair mixed with a month’s worth of kid food and dust #guilty), I immediately relax; I have nothing to prove here and neither do they. This is real life and it isn’t perfect, but let’s sit down and enjoy each others company and maybe later the vacuuming will get done.
Just me? I hope not!
Sally Clarkson says in her book, The Life Giving Table, “Souls are shaped in the common moments of life, the daily stuff of memories.”
It’s these days that we are given, where we get to spend time doing common things with one another, sharing cups of coffee and making meals, that shape who we are and what really matters. Community really matters, not perfectly clean homes and put-together people.
Invite someone over this week and don’t stress about cleaning everything first. It might just make them feel more at home when they are with you.
Coast x Coast Motherhood 