Perfection? Or goodness?

"The perfect is the enemy of the good."

A friend from my FebMoms chat group posted this yesterday, and it's been on my mind. Sometimes I push so hard for the perfect - grades from my children, behavior from my children, exercising at the gym, the cleanliness of our house, social activities - that I don't see the good all around me every day. Everything doesn't have to be perfect all the time; there are much, much more important things.

Sometimes, the "good" things aren't enough - they're more than enough.

I'm going to do better with this.

Election 2008: The Final Word

I'd like to share a little ditty a friend passed along via e-mail this morning. Just a little poetic snack to serve as an endnote to our recent election.

The election is over, the talking is done,
My party lost, your party won.
So let us be friends and let arguments pass,
I'll hug my elephant, you kiss your a$$.
- Author Unknown

THANK YOU! GOODNIGHT, COLUMBUS!

And the award goes to ...

I used to have this client, Jeff, who despised TV award shows more than anything. The Oscars, the Emmys, it didn't matter - to him, they were the scourge of our society, an indicator of all that is self-serving and wrong with our country. We had several spirited debates on the topic because, well ... I love me a good awards show. Not all of them, mind you. The Oscars are good. The Emmys, they're OK (good for watching while doing chores in and out of the room). The MTV awards - um, no. I do have standards. :)

Then there are the CMAs. We're big country music fans in this house and it's a family event to watch the performances and cheer on our favorite singers (SUGARLAND!!!). So we're perched in front of the TV this evening, jamming out to Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift and even Kid Rock ("... singin' 'Sweet Home Alabama' all summer long ..."). The best part? No dirty lyrics, no hoochie mama outfits, no bleeps over bad words. Just great, great music and some very cool people.

So far, Sugarland's 1 for 2. Jennifer Nettles, the lead singer, graduated from Agnes Scott, you know. No wonder she's so darn cool.

Yeah, so ...

I can hear my friend Leslie's brain spinning from clear across the country.

It's been a long time, folks! Things happen. Football playoffs, soccer playoffs, tennis team matches, school plays, client trips, elections (and subsequent denial/depression cycles) ... next thing you know, it's been 12 days since you posted on the blog. My, how the time flies.

So a quick update:
- AK's tennis season has ended and her brand-new middle school team placed 3rd out of 8. No hardware, but a nice certificate. (And the knowledge that the team in first place was *very* loosey-goosey with the age rules. Think Chinese women's gymnastics.) But she had a blast and proved that a nice new racquet really makes all the difference in the world. She went 2-1 this season.
- Ryan has one more soccer game left. He's gone from "which direction do I run?" to "outta my way!" in a few short months. He scored another goal this past weekend, and it's still fun to see him giggle with glee.
- My work traveling has diminished, at least for now. January starts the ball rolling again. It's been nice to be home for such a long period of time (a whole month!).
- Rus has three (or four?) classes left and he'll possess a Masters. Woo-HOOO!
- Basketball practice for AK starts this week.
- Because of a soccer game, an end-of-season party and a Girl Scout camping trip, Rus and I will have to make do with listening to the UGA/Auburn game on the radio this year. The things we do.
- Illustrating temporary insanity at it's finest, I agreed to be our Troop's Cookie Manager for 2009. Get those checks ready, people, the Girl Scouts are coming in about 6 weeks!
- Our high school football team finished the season undefeated and starts round 1 of the playoffs this Friday night. Bring it, Hornets. You're goin' DOWN. This is our year to play in the Dome!

I continue to have a work challenge on my plate; not sure how to solve it or when it will end/go away. There must be something left for me to learn or I wouldn't still be dealing with this. Thoughts?