A Perfect Family

In 3 of the 4 states we have lived in, I have received a comment similar to the following:

Aren't you just the perfect little family?

I'm pretty sure that at least one of those times it was said as much of a jab as anything. It makes me wonder. What is it that makes us look "perfect"?

I think I might have at least a partial answer. We see most of our ward members only on Sundays. To me, going to church isn't a casual affair. I love getting ready for church on Saturday nights. When I (and consequently my children) go to church, we dress in our "Sunday Best". Therefore, we look "perfect".

If these same people saw how we looked the rest of the week, they might not think we are the "perfect family". I allow my children to wear basically anything they want. I honestly don't care if they match or not, and I really don't care if they freeze when I've told them it is going to be 45 degrees and they wear shorts.

And if they were a fly on the wall yesterday afternoon, I know they wouldn't think we were perfect.

Last night when I was at Boo's choir concert, I looked around at the other children. I wondered if any of them had been in a full melt down mode within the last 30 minutes. And I knew that no one would suspect that from Boo.

If you would have seen me last night, you probably wouldn't have known that I had been trying to get my 10 year old to practice 30 minutes and it took over 2 hours to accomplish it. That was a horrible 2 hours. In fact, it is in contention for the worst 2 hours of that 10 year old's life...and probably in contention for the worst 2 hours of my life as well. She has a way of spreading a bad mood.

And, you probably wouldn't have known that my 5 year old had a major melt down. I had to send him to his room. He fell asleep. But when I woke him up (so he would sleep last night), he continued right on with his melt down. BTW, I was not going to Walmart!!

And you probably wouldn't have known that my 8 year old child who almost never puts up a fuss for anything, put up a fuss about going to his sister's choir concert before eating dinner. A big fuss- for him (although a very minor one compared to his siblings.)

And you probably wouldn't have known that my 8 month old had been whining all day. She got 2 new teeth in the past few days and is getting two more in soon. She doesn't sleep. She doesn't eat well. She cries a lot. She is miserable.

Things aren't always as they seem.