If you haven’t gone to their website yet (www.shutupabout.com), you must! It’s totally refreshing to know that there is now a “movement of imperfection!”
Speaking of imperfection, my hugely imperfect mother’s (love ya mom!) Christmas Letter, If it had gotten past my editing, would have been the opposite of the annoying “perfect” letter.
She began her mini letter by telling people about “a horrific fire near main street in our city which left 20 people homeless and one person dead”. After I chopped that part out for her… I had discovered it when she handed me my card to save money on a stamp….her mini letter became teeny… but it was not about the doom and gloom that would have had the receiver scratching their heads and wondering “whaaaaat???”! She did try to turn it into a nice story ending with how the blessing of snow helped keep the rest of main street from burning, but nope, sorry, I felt it wasn’t enough to redeem herself from the doom and gloom she was about to spread to people all over the world. We all had a good laugh about it. Sorry Mom….Glad I could help! Say YES! to imperfection! Thank you to the Shut Up Sisters for shining a light in my direction!

Therese – I just closed my email and opened up Beyond Blue, and what perfect timing!! about the annoying Holiday Leter!!
Only what I’m receiving are the wonderful pics to go along with the “letter”. Now this sounds like sour grapes, and it is not in the least, as I am deep down kidding inside about this.
What I get is a friend of mine whose daughter I’ve known since she was about 7 years old. She is now 25 years old, working for the “Today Show” as a researcher in DC. She is a delightful young lady, and I have loved this kid since she was little and knew in my gut she was going to go far. She’s only just started out and it would take paragraphs to list all that she has accomplished and seen so far.
Her Mom gets to go along on some of her daughter’s events. I just closed pictures of them both from the White House. Like him or not, just seeing them in the White House taking pictures with the President and Mrs. Bush was pretty incredible. But in all honesty (yuck – honesty somethimes is a little ugly) – I thought – enough already!! Stop sending me all of these wonderful pictures each week!! Now – again, I say that half-heartedly as I’ve asked her to forward everything to me that her daughter does.
The reason is that she credits me for helping her develop a healthy relationship with her when she was a little girl. She actually did the footwork. I just shared with her my own experience, strength and hope at the time.
So, it really is wonderful to see the fruits of restructuring a dysfunctional family into a functional one and how the journey can change.
Breaking the cycle of past generations and seeing the results of allowing our children to fulfill their potential is a priceless gift.
So, while I groaned at first at another – look what my daughter did!! – I also know that it is sent with gratitude and sharing the blessings of this adventure we call “life”. Sometimes it is sad and painful. Other times, such as these, it seems all so worthwhile.
I know that when she and I were bringing up our “little ones”, we would just take the next right step, pray – and “Let Go and Let God”. Through us and others, He does miraculous things!

It all just sounds like sour grapes to me. I don’t believe in embracing imperfection. We were put here to strive to be the best people we can be and that is different for each of us. However, to condemn someone else for celebrating and sharing the blessings in their lives with the people they call friends just seems bitter and selfish to me.
We shouldn’t brag about our accomplishments or those of our children, but certainly we should not ignore them or show a lack of appreciation for them either.
I love receiving others’ holiday letters and seeing pictures of their children.
I realize that I am not perfect, but I will never stop trying to better myself rather than wallowing in the imperfect state of what is.

Re -dawn | December 27, 2007 2:48 PM
I realize that I am not perfect, but I will never stop trying to better myself rather than wallowing in the imperfect state of what is.
** That reminds me of this woman my wife and I met at a bar. We were talking about Billy Joel’s “Just The Way You Are” … She hated that song! and we asked her why … and her response was “That attitude does not challenge you to be better than you are” … Sometimes you just wonder what perception of Love, really is … wouldn’t you say ? So all those cliches like “Love is never having to say your sorry” or “I Love you just the Way you are” (Billy joel … and God ) or “My Love for you is eternal” or “Love sucks” I guess are all just “Silly Love Songs” just like the Beatles said … hmmmmm
LUV 2 ALL
Wisdum

Thank you Wisdum – you said it all. I think the problem with those letters is that they seem to be saying that they are so much better than the rest of us. I’m sure they have their problems too, but we really don’t need to read someone else bragging about how great they are. Personally, my kids are great, but they can be frustrating and worse at times (I thought the 2s were bad, but teens….!) I think if you gloss over their imperfections then you are encouraging them to only approve of others who are perfect, and especially themselves. I can be a perfectionist and it can be very painful if you never measure up to imagined standards of perfection. You never think you are good enough for anyone or anything and feel like a fraud. That is what these letters perpetuate to me.

I am not sure “where” to post or if this is the correct place to respond to Therese Borchard’s 12 Days of Xmas but I thought it was so histerical. I laughed so hard I went and got my roommates to view it. They haven’t known me a real long time so I had to explain that I was only depressed and not bipolar. I wish people would lighten up. It is a serious illness aren’t all? But if you can laugh at yourself and have fun then your better off right? Being better is the whole point so people who cannot laugh and see the good are …… on a different road than me and I am glad for that. You see these kind of people all the time. I try to add humor to the day and people wonder about me to and you know what if it doesn’t cost me money or my job then I don’t care because I laugh when I can and that I will never change. Thank You Therese for all you do. You are so adorable and awesome and real. I strive to be as open and great as you are and so should everyone else. Openness is real and if you/public are an optimist then your cup will runneth over.

Anyone who “doesn’t believe in embracing imperfection,” has never tried, and doesn’t even understand what it means.

Amen, Babs – That was perfectly stated (ironic, since you were referring to imperfection)! There is a great book by authors Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham, titled “The Spirituality of Imperfection”.
John Bradshaw has a quote on the cover of this book -
“I think this book comes closer to the eral meaning of spirituality than anything I’ve looked at in the last twenty years.” Pretty powerful stuff.
Perfection is an unatainable illusion, some would call it a shortcoming, or a character defect. To understand that requires more of an explanation that I won’t get in to at this time, but what it is not, is an excuse to be lazy, irresponsible or any other word attached to the perceived opposite of perfection.
and Dawn, about the sour grapes, remember that was bracketed around with the true feeling of happiness (at least in my post & case) of watching young people grow into great human beings.
Our refrigerated is loaded right now with all kinds of pictures that were sent with Christmas cards. Some of them were children I taught Sunday School, others are relatives, one of whom graduated College on December 16th.
So, as I posted before, mine was a little tongue-in-cheek, as I had just closed the pics to the White House and opened up to this page on Beyond Blue.
If you’ve been around here long enough, I think you get the concept that this is all in humor and meant to address the exceptions of those who truly are ego-inflating buffoons with their “accomplishments”. Not the average notes and great pictures of people who we (well at least I) don’t get to see regularly, as life changes. One of the young ladies who taught Sunday School for me with the 5 and 6 grade class during the time when I was Deacon for Christian Education in our church, was a young teen. We developed a close bond. I count on her pictures. In fact, I count on her away message on instant messaging. I love keeping track of her.
I watched her grow from a young teenager to a college graduate from the same University last May with my son and now I get to “watch” her go through Law School in Delaware. She has told me in past correspondence when she was leaving for Law School that I was a big part in her becoming the person she evolved in to, and that I was such a source of support for her. I love the kid. She’s on my frig too!!
So, maybe Dawn, and I do not pretend to know where you are coming from and certainly your opinions and feelings are yours to have, but I hope you will come to know that many times we are just being silly and goofing around about absurdities.
I’ve spent so many days in life in tears dealing with severe clinicial depression, post partum depression, the psych. hospital, therapy, getting well only to get sick again, that this kind of stuff that Therese posts is just plain funny. That’s all it’s meant to be.
Of course, we’re all to strive to do our best each day and encourage those around us who touch our lives to do the same. For me, that’s a given. It’s one of the things I miss most lately, being so sick from another chronic debilitating illness that keeps me housebound (and headbound – that’s the part that UGH!). I don’t get to sponsor woman recovering from alcholism as I did for 14 years until last year. I don’t get to dive in head first into all of the Church Committees my name was on, and where I was extremely active. So, now I have to find different ways. However, my point is that first in all things is the desire to cheer the next person on, or at least share my own experience and give a hand up where I can.
That’s different from “not embracing imperfection”. I was one not to embrace imperfection to an extreme within myself. Let’s say, the outcome was not “good” – to put it mildly. Striving to do and be more than we were yesterday, each day of our lives is great. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. As long as for me, the goal is not to reach the pinnacle of perfection. Then I’m doomed.
One more thing, God bless, the “newer, younger” Nancy – she is now signing off as Nancy a/k/a/sixlittlekittes
So, I’ll just leave mine as Nancy L.

I’m having a Garth Brooks, um, jones lately with his new Ultimate Hits CD.
So I’ll just pronounce myself proud to have “Friends in Low Places” (“low” in all its meanings) and leave it at that

The Truth is, there is no perfection, and to think that is self-delusion & self-deception … “Only God is perfect” …. “My perfection is in your imperfection!” Perfection is tantamount to thinking your sins are better than someone else’s (and boy is that a matter of perception, from either direction!)
LUV 2 ALL
Wisdum

I loved the video! I belong to a support group of moms with bipolar kids. Last Christmas, one of the women wrote a “real” Christmas letter about how her year had been, as opposed to those ones that make you want to scream, “SHUT UP about your perfect kid!” So I immediately emailed my girlfriends to check out the video. Too funny.
A comment about the word “perfect” -
You may be familiar with the scripture in the New Testament where Jesus tells the disciples to “Be ye perfect, as I am also perfect.” That phrase has permeated Christianity and undoubtedly, caused major stress for those of us who are imperfect! A few years ago, I was liberated from this impossible quest by a seminary professor who explained that the word translated into English as perfect actually means “whole and complete” in Greek. Wow, what a marvelous difference! We are commanded to be “perfect!” We are encouraged to become more whole and complete – something that is truly possible!
Embrace that!

I can handle the “bragging”. What does one do with a letter that says everyone in their family has died or is in the process?
linda-marie

Re; Linda-Marie, one might say that we are all dying a little each day. Life is such a brief dance that each day SHOULD be precious! That we should live each day as if it were our last. That we should treasure time spent together and create new memories to sustain us when the actuality of their presence is no longer there. That I really believe that death is simply a transition from this reality to the next. Who would believe in Christianity otherwise? I have just come home from visiting my family up north and I know in my heart it will be my father’s last Christmas. I also know there are many loved ones on the other side who will guide him home when the time comes. This is the essence of faith and LOVE is the greatest gift you can give anyone! So share that which you have in abundance…yourself.

Re; Larry…awesome album, Garth Brooks greatest hits. That song speaks to me as well as “Standing Outside The Fire” EXCELLENT!!!

Lynne:
I just wrote in my blog about all those songs — and “The Change” as well.
Just go to “doxieman122″ on the social networking side.

I love reading about the blessing of family and friends. There is so much bad news, it is good to learn that “Not all is wrong with the world” Would that every day contained the Christmas spirit of possibilities. Hope is the best medicine for ill persons and dysfunctional families.