I browse Pinterest in the evenings, when the house is settling and my mind is quiet enough to dream again. This season brings so many celebrations for our family, from birthdays to simple autumn dinners; tailgating to Thanksgiving prep. I want to do it all. I want to throw the kind of birthday party for my daughter that inspires people. I want to decorate my home like a scene from Better Homes & Gardens, with a fabulous front porch full of pumpkins and haybales. I want people to come to our house for dinner and delight in the food, the decor, the scents.
In the warm glow of the computer screen I start to believe that I’m required – expected – to provide this magazine-perfected experience for my friends and family. That somehow, my daughter won’t have a great birthday if mommy doesn’t find a theme that delights both children and adults.
Football games will be uninteresting and uninspired if I don’t find food to satisfy the guys – that also travels well, taste perfect warm or cold, be appropriate for boys who love spicy food and kids who don’t. Oh and it should all look beautiful enough to Instagram.
And now I’ve just successfully set myself up for failure.
God has put something on my heart recently that has been changing how I’m approaching some of these hectic seasons in life. When I start to put too much pressure on myself to be someone I’m not, to do things that just aren’t necessary, God reminds me to “let it go.”
Read the rest over in this month’s Mothers of Daughters post? I’d love to see you there! We’re all talking about holidays and celebrations – two of my favorite parts about community!