I have to believe that I’m not the only one who feels this way, so I’m putting it out there……. Trying to live a perfect life is exhausting.

I once read in a magazine something along these lines:

“Only Wonder Woman can do it all, all at once. And Wonder Woman isn’t real.”

I appreciated that statement at the time, and obviously it stuck with me, but it has never seemed to matter as much as it has recently. It is amazing how women tend to make themselves feel like not only do we need to do it all, we have to do it all at the same time. And the kicker is, we feel like we have to do it well. Even better than that, we have to be great at all of it.

Via Pinterest

It is absolutely completely utterly exhausting to try to be the poster child when it comes to being an employee, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a follower of Christ, a friend, an entrepreneur, a sister, a party planner, a chef, a pet owner, etc. And on top of that, we’re supposed to be able to take time for ourselves to stay in shape, relieve stress, recharge, and continue growing as a person.

All of the images of perfection – whether on Facebook, Pinterest (especially), or blogs – can lead a girl to a meltdown. Or to a big glass of wine.

It is important to remember though that maybe the person planned that amazing party for their child’s first birthday isn’t working two jobs. Maybe the blogger with the pristine house and straight-out-of-a-magazine décor can’t cook Ramen noodles without something catching on fire. And maybe the person who seems like they really can cook, organize, decorate, plan, and live perfectly… maybe they are just really good at smoke and mirrors.

We put so much pressure on ourselves to be it all, and to be it all to everyone. We can’t always be able to fulfill all the roles we play while simultaneously making sure to please everyone else. Let’s try to work on cutting each other some slack, ok? Let’s be each other’s champions. Let’s celebrate the little victories, and remind each other that the failures we think we’ve had, that ball we think we’ve dropped, the standard we didn’t meet – it’s ok. Because we’re trying. We were there for someone when they needed a friend, so the dishes can wait. We were out working our butts off so that we can pay the bills, and that’s setting a good example for our children in regard to work ethic.

Because the truth is, no one is perfect and we can’t be Wonder Woman. Maybe for Halloween – but only if the costume is completely homemade.