Tea For Teletubbies...

I am an overachiever of the worst kind. I'm the type of overachiever that believes {with regards to myself...not others} that if something is not going to be done to it's utmost and best thoroughness, it should not be done at all. This is a great trait to posses in high school where an entire semester's grade can be based upon one lone book report on The Catcher in the Rye. It also comes in handy when the closet needs cleaned and I have absolutely nothing else to do. If, however, you are a busy adult {such as myself} and carving out time to appropriately brush your teeth is some days a challenge, this trait can be downright debilitating.

Case in point: the girls received a mini porcelain tea set for Christmas. We all thought how fun it would be to use in our tea parties. I suggested that we invite Josefina & Chrissa {their new Christmas dolls}. Then, drunk on visions of pottery barn kids' catalogs and Martha Stewart crafting ideas, I started dreaming up all sorts of correlating activities to go along with our tea party: invitations adorned with glitter, handmade decorations, water crest finger sandwiches, fancy dresses...They all seemed like super fun activities with potential educational value.

In actuality, what I had just done was turn a simple act of play into an overwhelmingly intimidating task. I had built our tea party up so much in my own mind that I could no longer live up to my own expectations much less add the actual creation of such a grand tea party to our usual daily busyness. As much as I wanted to make it all happen, I thought it was slightly more important to make lunch. So, for days...{bless those little girl} no tea parties.

But, you see, those little girls of mine didn't care about invitations or water crest or Pottery Barn...they just wanted to have a tea party. Thankfully, my life journey has made me somewhat self-actualized and after a few days it hit me how my overachieving and unrealistic expectations were keeping them from this simple joyful experience. So, I opened up the tea set right there on the living room floor in front of our Christmas tree. There, in their jammies, they set up a wonderful tea party for their dolls and stuffed animals. It was nothing like I had imagined, but it could not have been more perfect.

I see myself repeating this very same cycle in multiple areas of my life: grocery shopping, house cleaning, sometimes even my Bench Monday shots. So lately I've been recognizing the value of taking smaller bites, taking one step at a time, and letting a tea party be just a tea party. As a long standing member of the "All or Nothing Club", this hasn't been easy letting go in this manner. But, I must say, it also feels really good!