A Pretty Good Good Enough

Why, yes, those are Easter Bunny ears.

I know, I know, I'm late. Story of my life. But this week is gonna be a whole lotta catch-up. Because we've done some fun things and taken some cute pics, and I am grateful to be able to look back on a spring that, while crazy busy on the work side of things for both the mister and I, was also fulfilling on the home front.

The other day, a man I work with who also has young kids asked me how I manage being a working mom, since it seems like a full-time job for his own stay-at-home wife. Without even thinking, I actually came up with something pretty profound: I have come to accept that I will always be letting someone down.

It sounds a little bleak, I know, but it is actually pretty liberating for a perfectionist like me who is sure I'd be happy if I can only get everything in my life just so.

I will do my best, but it will not always be pretty and it certainly wont be perfect. BUT, I will do my best, and that will be good enough.

And though I am actually really bad at letting it be good enough in my own mind, it was liberating in that moment to realize that it might be starting to sink in. Because we are human and imperfect, and no matter how hard we try, we will always let people down. We will run late or forget about carpool or snap at our kids simply because we are tired and stressed. We will show up late to early morning meetings (have I mentioned that I detest 8 a.m. meetings?) and still duck out early to pick up kids for swim lessons. We will wish someone else was working through lunch simply so there would be proof that we are, actually, doing our best. We will live by the skin of our teeth and the fierceness of our hearts, and we will try again, every day, to do more good than bad. But even in our very best efforts, we will still not be perfect and we will, more often than not, let someone down.

So yes, I am about a month late in chronicling some memories, which makes me a bad blogger. And I was going to just file these pics away for the photobooks without ever sharing them because it makes me look a bit flighty to talk about Easter when everyone else did that at 10 o'clock at night on Easter Sunday. But we had fun, and I am grateful that we are creating traditions. And I am grateful for the little people who remind me how magical traditions can be. So, albeit belated, I think that's worth talking about.

I am pretty sure we should make them hunt for their Santa spoils, too, given the whoops of glee and ongoing enthusiasm when they finally found their loot.

This one has a sweet tooth the size of Texas and had polished off all of her candy before I even thought to set some aside to meter it out. Andy said I have conditioned her to ask for forgiveness rather than permission when it comes to candy. He's probably right. Here she is squirreling it away in her cheeks. So proud she pulled one over on the uptight parents.

Is it just me, or does Easter feel like it is just days after Christmas? We opted for books over toys (with the exception of a few Legos and Littlest Pet Shops) this year, and they seemed just as happy to curl up with a handful of candy and some new books for an afternoon of family story time.

We also held off on baskets until after church (the Easter Bunny was kind enough to leave us new church clothes and a reassuring note overnight, promising that he would return with our baskets while we were at church). We ate monkey bread while reading about the resurrection before church and then returned home to a trail of eggs that led us to the rest of the Easter fun. It felt like a nice balance for us.

Post church, pre baskets...super excited to be taking pictures instead of hunting down their baskets.

And the rest of the day was pajamas and playtime. Here's Nora teaching her daddy how to change baby Molly Lou's (or Teresa, depending on the day) diaper.

Not to be outdone, our Easter Saturday was no less magical, thanks to friends who substitute as family. Which brings me to: How grateful I am for good friends. I know I've said it a lot, but we just feel so lucky to have met, over the past few years, warm, caring, fun families who make a town with no other Burts feel like home.

Any guesses on Nora's eggs?

 

Last but certainly not least (it's actually been my favorite part of Easter ever since my mom pulled off an obstacle course egg hunt for the entire Reece clan when I was nine), the egg hunt, complete with youngest to oldest entry onto the field of play...

 

And Porter lucked out this year when he found the golden (actually purple) egg with a dollar bill inside, though he did have to recruit help to retrieve it.

 

Check, off the list. A day late and a dollar short, but no less happy to have a had a really great Easter this year.