The fallout of NaBloPoMo

I'm a big fan of "good enough"... I'm not a perfectionist and would never want to be one, live with one or raise one. (I've worked with those types, and it ain't pretty.) Did I say big fan?... I'm a ginormous fan of "good enough"! And of gray areas. Love those gray areas. People who exist where things are always black & white are missing out Big Time. (I've also worked with those type of super-analytical people, and that goes beyond not pretty all the way to ugly.)

So when I started NaBloPoMo, I knew it was an all-or-nothing situation. Not my favorite environment, but ok. I didn't have any trouble posting each day. November was good timing for me. Now, December, January and February... forget about it.

I didn't tell my kids about NaBloPoMo, but they saw it on my blog and became interested. I explained the all-or-nothing commitment, and they still wanted to participate. I have LOVED reading their blog posts. Even though they didn't complain, at least to me, I know they didn't find NaBloPoMo as easy as I did. And Sammy missed the very first day, so he knew he was out of the running, but he still kept at it. Joycie's posts were so entertaining for me, and insightful. Did I say I loved their blog posts? I really, really loved them. Really, really! It is not only great practice for them for writing, it's so fun to read about something they are thinking of day-to-day.

But then I noticed they both forgot they didn't make it every day. Or probably it's more like almost every day is "good enough" as every day. Both of my kids are self-motivated, so I have actually had many, many discussions with them through the years about the importance of not being a perfectionist. I've taught them well. And I am perfectly happy about that! Good enough doesn't mean do an ok job, it means do your best, your very best. Perfection exists far too infrequently and if you constantly worry about perfection, if you constantly strive for perfection, you will worry in vain and set yourself up for disappointment. (That's one reason I don't like it when elementary students get an award at the end of the year for "perfect attendance"... because you know those kids likely went to school sick one day in their desire for the perfect attendance award... and gave their cold or flu to my kid!)

So this morning, we talked about their blog posts and they corrected themselves. They both thought I was unhappy with them, but I wasn't. It's the opposite. I'm so proud of them! And now I'm just hoping, really, really hoping, that the black & white of NaBloPoMo doesn't dull their enthusiasm for blog posting.