Here at Chez Carbone, we're counting down the days until Christmas. The shopping is done, the tree is trimmed, and next on the list is gift wrapping. I'm taking a break from that chore as I write this and letting you in on another secret. I hate wrapping presents.
As I get older, I've begun to realize that some things come naturally to me and they tend to be easy to do. And some things, well, not so much. There are things that, no matter how hard I try I can't seem to get right. Wrapping presents falls into this category. I want my gifts to look perfect, beautiful enough to be photographed, but I always end up with lopsided concoctions, crooked ribbons and bows that fall off if anyone in my neighborhood sneezes.
Which brings me to another issue. I'm a bit of a perfectionist. When writing, I'm forever reaching for the stars, then redoing each scene of a story numerous times until I get it right. I wouldn't send anything out into the world unedited. Even this blog post has been rewritten, edited and edited again. Which is not to say there aren't errors in my work. Errors are the bane of my existence. Just when I think I've got it, well, perfect, I find a misspelled word or, worse, a missing phrase. Which brings me back to wrapping. As much as I want my packages to look as though Martha Stewart herself wrapped them, they end up looking more like they were wrapped by her dog.
I'm striving to forget about to perfection. It's a myth, after all. No one gets it perfect all the time. I have a clay statue of a dragon on my desk, made by one of my kids back when he was in grade school. It's slightly misshapen, with big bulgy blue eyes that look as if they're about to fall out. I love this statue, though. And if I think about it, I love it precisely because it is imperfect. So, the gifts under my tree might lack a bow or two, the wrapping may come undone around the corners. And we'll have a wonderful time unwrapping them just the same.
Wishing you a wonderfully imperfect holiday season.
As I get older, I've begun to realize that some things come naturally to me and they tend to be easy to do. And some things, well, not so much. There are things that, no matter how hard I try I can't seem to get right. Wrapping presents falls into this category. I want my gifts to look perfect, beautiful enough to be photographed, but I always end up with lopsided concoctions, crooked ribbons and bows that fall off if anyone in my neighborhood sneezes.
Which brings me to another issue. I'm a bit of a perfectionist. When writing, I'm forever reaching for the stars, then redoing each scene of a story numerous times until I get it right. I wouldn't send anything out into the world unedited. Even this blog post has been rewritten, edited and edited again. Which is not to say there aren't errors in my work. Errors are the bane of my existence. Just when I think I've got it, well, perfect, I find a misspelled word or, worse, a missing phrase. Which brings me back to wrapping. As much as I want my packages to look as though Martha Stewart herself wrapped them, they end up looking more like they were wrapped by her dog.
I'm striving to forget about to perfection. It's a myth, after all. No one gets it perfect all the time. I have a clay statue of a dragon on my desk, made by one of my kids back when he was in grade school. It's slightly misshapen, with big bulgy blue eyes that look as if they're about to fall out. I love this statue, though. And if I think about it, I love it precisely because it is imperfect. So, the gifts under my tree might lack a bow or two, the wrapping may come undone around the corners. And we'll have a wonderful time unwrapping them just the same.
Wishing you a wonderfully imperfect holiday season.
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